Enterprise Inns sells five pubs at auction
Enterprise Inns sold the freeholds of five out of eight London pubs included in a Cushman & Wakefield auction yesterday, raising around £8.12m.
The five pubs sold bring in a combined rental income of £605,000 per annum — four sold during the auction, while a fifth was sold afterwards.
The tenanted operator had hoped to raise £12,625,000 through the sale-and-leaseback of these eight pubs.
As in previous auctions, Enterprise offered prospective freehold investors a 35-year lease with an option for Enterprise to break at 25 years subject to six months' notice.
The company has previously stated that it reserves around 15% of total current income from the pubs it takes to auction.
The Princess Royal, now the Princess of Shoreditch, in Shoreditch, (rent of £105,000) had a guide price of £1.35-£1.45m, and was sold after the auction for an undiclosed sum.
Those sold in the auction room raised £6.715m and included:
• Molly Moggs, Old Compton Street, (rent of £105,000) had a guide price of £1.425-£1.525m, and sold for £1.49m
• So Bar Fulham, (rent of £150,000) had a guide price of £1.9-£2m, sold for £1.975m
• The Ealing Tavern, Ealing, (rent £125,000), had a guide price of £1.55-£1.65m, sold for £1.65m
• The Hope, Fitzrovia, (rent £120,000) had a guide price of £1.55-£1.65m and sold for £1.6m
The pubs which did not sell and are still available, included:
• The Sun, Drury Lane, Covent Garden, (rent £115,000) had a guide price of £1.6-£1.7m. It is still available priced £1.675m,
• Halfway House, Mortlake, (rent £85,000), had a guide price of £1-£1.1m, and is still availabel for £1.125m
• Three Kings, Clerkenwell, (rent £115,000), had a guide price of £1.45-£1.55m, and is still available priced £1.525m
The Company has now raised £55m through the sale and leaseback of prime London sites.
Another seven London pubs are set to be auctioned on 24 March with Allsops, raising between £9-£10m.
Enterprise has stated that it might raise as much as £200m through the public auction route — it is on course to raise £70m in its first half year.
