Greene King expands presence in London with Realpubs purchase

Published 28th Apr 2011

Greene King has boosted its presence in London by buying Realpubs, the owner of 14 licensed premises in the capital.

It is continuing to look for other value-adding acquisitions to take its total managed pub estate from 926 (including today's deal) to around 1,100. Realpubs - bought for £53.1m - targets the premium, pub dining end of the market and Greene King plans to convert some of its existing pubs to the format. Founders Malcolm Heap and Nick Pring will stay with the business for at least two years. Chief executive Rooney Anand said:

[The Realpubs acquisition] takes the total number of Greene King sites within the M25 to 217 and positions us strongly ahead of, during and after the Olympics in London in 2012, when London and its pubs and restaurants will be visited by tourists from across the world.

Analysts at Oriel Securities estimated Realpubs could add around £2m to pre-tax profits next year. The deal follows the recent purchase of Cloverleaf which added 10 pubs to the estate. Shore Capital said the company had now drawn down around £100m of its recent £400m refinancing, which was designed to support its retail expansion.

Source: ' 'Guardian' '

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