Admiral announces £5m capital investment programme

Tenanted pub operator Admiral Taverns has announced plans to spend £5m on capital investment programmes at around 165 pubs over five months this summer.

Fifty schemes have already been approved by the company. Average spend will be around £30,000.

One million pounds will be allocated to each of Admiral's four regional divisions, with a further £1m "to be allocated and invested where appropriate", Admiral said.

Admiral managing director Kevin Georgel told M&C Report that the focus of the investment will be in Admiral's Core estate, with no particular regional bias.

He added: "There's a definite focus on the external look: lighting, signage. In particular we're keen to communicate externally what you can expect inside. What we find is an awful lot of pubs are doing a lot of activities, but it's limited to existing customers because they already know about it."

Upgrading food and cask ale offers will also be the focus of some investments.

"This is a great opportunity for our licensees and business development managers to optimise the performance of their pubs. Enhancing the external appearance of our pub buildings will be a critical focus for us, as we have identified a number of fantastic pubs - with great standards and atmosphere - that perhaps undersell themselves to potential customers from the outside, so we plan to address this and return such pubs to pristine condition.

"It's an exciting development for Admiral - the first such programme for some time - and will deliver other benefits normally associated with effective capital investment programmes, such as driving pub performance and increasing licensee tenure."

Georgel said that "where appropriate", the investment will be reflected in rental uplifts if there's a significant uplift in profitability. "Every case will be judged on its own merits," he said.