Biggest deals in the sector over the past year
May 2024
Admiral Taverns acquired 37 pubs from Fuller’s Tenanted Inns Division for £18.3m. The Chester-based business said the purchase was strengthen its portfolio in the south-east.
This took Admiral’s estate in the region to more than 300 and 1,420 in total across the nation.
May also saw the news that Red Oak bought 19 tied tenanted pubs from Marston’s. This was the third transaction between the two firms in 15 months, bringing the total number of sites acquired by Red Oak from Marston’s to 26.
April 2024
Pub and restaurant operator Portobello Pub Company completed a deal to buy London-based bar-restaurant business Darwin & Wallace.
The deal meant Portobello expanded its estate to 27 sites and the group revealed it had plans to grow further “via selective acquisitions”.
Also in April, Punch Pubs & Co acquired the Milton 3 portfolio, adding 24 pubs to its 1,300 estate.
This was the second acquisition announcement from the group in the same month as it also revealed three Leicestershire pubs were joining Punch’s 900 leased and tenanted sites.
February 2024
Nightcap acquired live entertainment concept The Piano Works. Stamp Entertainment, a subsidiary of Nightcap, entered an asset purchase agreement to acquire certain assets of TDC Concepts, which operated The Piano Works.
Following the deal, Nightcap CEO Sarah Willingham told The Morning Advertiser: "We had already been working with The Piano Works over Christmas as a residency at our Barrio site and we all worked well together, so when the opportunity presented itself, we were happy to continue the relationship.
"It sits really nicely with our other brands. We are all about providing our customers with a great experience and The Piano Works is the same. We are really excited to be working and developing with their teams. It has so much potential."
January 2024
Red Oak Taverns kicked 2024 off with a four pub-package purchase from Marston’s Pub Company.
The deal marked Red Oak’s second acquisition from Marston’s in the previous 12 months having also acquired three assets from them in February 2023.
December 2023
McManus Pub Company sold four Northamptonshire-based pubs to Valiant Pub Co – the Lord Byron, the Fox & Hounds, the Golden Horse and the Foundrymans Arms.
The decision to sell the pubs was not one that was taken lightly, according to McManus Pub Company managing director Gary McManus.
He added: "It is the right time in our journey to reduce our liabilities and establish more solid foundations for the business.
"It gives us confidence to refocus our growth and explore exciting opportunities in bedrooms, wet-led and neighbourhood venues, locally and regionally."
The company will continue to look forward purchase opportunities in the future, McManus said.
September 2023
St Austell acquired Bath Pub Company for an undisclosed sum in September last year. It saw St Austell take on four sites – the Locksbrook Inn, the Moorfields, the Hare & Hounds and the Marlborough Tavern.
The south-west based firm said the deal would strengthen its presence in and around Bath, where it already owned four tenanted sites.
June 2023
Bar operator Nightcap bought the Dirty Martini chain of cocktail bars and Tuttons Brasserie in a £4.65m pre-pack deal.
Dirty Martini operated 11 sites, including Tuttons, across 10 leases with five in London and five outside the city. At the time, the acquisition was Nightcap’s fourth in under three years.
In the same month, Red Oak Taverns exchanged contracts on two sites from Everards – the Croft in Wednesbury, West Midlands and the Bulls Head in Clipston, near Market Harborough, Northamptonshire.
