Spirit pub portfolio placed on market

Prestbury Investments, the Nick Leslau-led property vehicle, is understood to have placed a 24-strong portfolio of pubs let to Spirit Pub Company on the market.

The package is understood to be valued at £42.3m, equalling an 8% yield.

It is thought that CBRE has been appointed to sell the pubs, which are let to Spirit until 2044 and stretch from Newcastle in the north to Weymouth in south and from Liverpool to Suffolk. It is understood that the pubs generate an annual income of around £3.6m.

Property tycoon Leslau, who is looking to de-gear his portfolio through the sale of the investments, acquired 220 pubs from Spirit in 2004 in a £500m deal with retail entrepreneur Tom Hunter's private equity company West Coast Capital.

Under the deal Spirit leased back the portfolio of pubs, which was part of the estate it acquired for £2.51bn from Scottish & Newcastle in October 2003.