Hawthorn acquires 11 JDW pubs

Hawthorn Leisure, the Avenue Capital-backed pub operator, has acquired 11 pubs from JD Wetherspoon, which will be its first fully manged sites.

The group’s fourth acquisition since its inception in June 2014 takes it to a c350-strong estate.

Within this are 50 pubs run under an operator agreement – half of which are under Hawthorn’s Artisan Tap or Last Orders brands.

The 11 JD Wetherspoon sites will sit under managing director Mark McGinty - who worked for JDW for 17 years - supported by an executive team with significant managed house experience.

Hawthorn told MCA it had strengthened our team in preparation for the acquisition, particularly in marketing, food and concept development.

MCA revealed last month that new chief financial officer Matthew Ward joins on 4 April from the Co-Operative Group, while Jennie Walton, previously at Mitchells & Butlers, has already started work at the group as head of marketing.