Admiral wipes out £47m of debt

Admiral Taverns wiped £47.2m off its debt in the seven months to 31 May 2010 as it trimmed its estate by 11% and reported improved trading in its turnaround division.

The tenanted pub operator underwent a financial restructuring that saw Lloyds Bank write off around £600m of debt in return for a large stake in the business around 18 months ago.

Admiral reported net debt on 31 March 2010 of £295.4m — a reduction of £47.2m in the seven months following the restructure.

Turnover for the period was £63m and operating profit stood at £17.6m, with the company owning 1,768 pubs — having sold 217.

Admiral said: "Under the previous ultimate parent company, the operational management structure had been revised, such that the core estate pubs were managed independently from pubs that had either been identified for disposal or 'turnaround'.

"This strategy, which has been continued, has been a success with the turnaround enjoying a significant improvement in trading performance.

"It has enabled the core estate team to concentrate on building longer-term partnerships with the group's licensees.

"Consequently, the core estate, away from the distractions of the turnaround-related issues, performed well and traded in line with directors' expectations during the period."

The firm returned 17 leasehold pubs to Punch Taverns in July 2010.