Shaftesbury to acquire £10.25m Enterprise package
Shatfesbury, the London property company, will announce this week a £10.25m sale and leaseback deal with Enterprise Inns for five of the pub company's sites in Covent Garden and China Town.
According to the Financial Times, the deal is part of the property company's plans to building up a large portfolio of West End pubs in order to establish "fine casual" dining options alongside the traditional drinking culture of the capital's entertainment district.
The five freehold pubs reportedly include the Blue Posts and Waxy's Little Sister in Chinatown; the Lemon Tree and Cross Keys in Covent Garden; and the Wheatsheaf in Rathbone Place. The £10.25m deal price represents an overall initial yield of 5.5%.
The newspaper says that Shaftesbury has been quietly building its portfolio of pubs over the past two years, with this latest deal set to take its estate to 24. Not all the sites the company has acquired have remained as pubs, with some evolving into restaurants.
Jonathan Lane, chief executive of Shaftesbury, said that it had been very difficult to buy pubs in the area owing to the traditional holdings of the large brewers.
Mr Lane said: "There is always scope for drinking in the West End, and pubs are generally thriving. These are the ones that pub groups least want to sell but the trouble is you have to invest.
"In the old days they had been owned forever by the brewers, who used to invest, but there are now many that are cash-strapped."
After this latest deal, Enterprise will have achieved around £180m from its sale and leaseback programme.
