Industry sources report that Realpubs, the London operator founded by Nick Pring and Malcolm Heap, has bought three freeholds from Enterprise for an undisclosed price — estimates put the value at up to £10m.
The company has acquired the North London Tavern, Kilburn High Road, the Oxford, Kentish Town, and the Metropolitan, Westbourne Park, which was due to be auctioned by Enterprise.
An industry source said it would not normally make economic sense for a tenant to try and buy an Enterprise pub going to auction.
He said: "They have been selling for around 16 times the rent Enterprise is offering, with 20% of the Enterprise income reserved by the company. So a tenant would need to offer around 20 times the rent Enterprise is offering to secure the freehold. It's a contrast with the eight to 10 times earnings that Punch pubs have been selling for."
The Realpubs deal seems to have made sense for the company on the basis of creating a lotting premium and critical freehold mass for Realpubs. Both Enterprise Inns and Realpubs declined to comment on the deal.
Enterprise Inns is to include a paragraph in its new code of practice that makes it clear it will give "full consideration" to offers from licensees to buy their pub freeholds.
The clause will state that any licensee who has been in occupation for more than three years and has audited accounts can table an offer for their freehold.
An Enterprise source said: "Already, anyone can make an offer for their pub — this clause just makes the process clear and transparent."