Over a billion pounds has been raised by operators and investors since the start of the pandemic in anticipation of capturing opportunities that have become available in the pubs sector.

With the industry experiencing a resurgence of activity since the lifting of trading restrictions, operators and investors are now more confident in the future. While there are still a number of challenges that pubs have to overcome, such as staff shortages and supply chain disruption, improved market confidence is resulting in the deployment of much of the capital that has been raised.

Over the summer a number of deals took place. Admiral Taverns, a joint venture between C&C Group and real estate investor Proprium Capital Partners which raised £151 million in June 2021, recently acquired rival community pub company Hawthorn in a £222.3 million deal from NewRiver. The deal sees Admiral acquire 674 venues and it will now operate over 1,500 sites, making it one of Britain’s biggest pub firms.

Punch Pubs & Co completed a £600 million refinance in June and quickly acquired the Ram's tenanted division from Young’s Brewery for £53 million, a process which was handled by Savills. Punch Pubs now operates close to 1,300 pubs in the UK. The proceeds of the sale will provide Young’s with a strengthened balance sheet and capacity to invest further in its existing pubs, and they have also said they will look to acquire freehold managed pubs.

RedCat Pub Company, which was founded in February 2021 by former Greene King boss Rooney Anand and has raised around £200 million to invest in UK pubs, has also been busy. It has completed a number of recent acquisitions including the 18 sites run by the Coaching Inn Group for a reported £60 million, 42 pubs from Stonegate Pub company for a reported £20 million, and four sites from the Knead Pub Group as well as some single sites.

While there’s plenty of activity in the sector, the fact remains there aren't that many sites being openly marketed. With plenty of money waiting to be deployed and operators looking to gain market share, we expect there to be healthy competition for sites that do become available.

Further information

Contact Stuart Stares

Contact Savills Pubs, Bars & Restaurants