Greene King to Become UK’s Leading Managed Pub Operator
British brewer and pub group Greene King is acquiring Spirit Pub Company in a £774 million deal, which will create the UK’s leading managed pub operator with over 3,100 pubs, restaurants and hotels, with over 1,000 in London and the south east of England.
Spirit is one of the UK’s leading pub companies with a strong portfolio of brands including: Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square, Flaming Grill, Taylor Walker, and John Barras. It also operates Wacky Warehouse, the UK’s leading soft play, party venue and activity centre for children, and Good Night Inns, a group of hotels in locations next to its pub restaurants.
The combined Greene King/Spirit business will have revenue in excess of £2.1 billion, EBITDA of approximately £49 0 million and operate a managed estate of over 1,800 pubs. Integration of the two companies is expected to yield significant operational efficiencies and cost savings of at least £30 million.
Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King, comments: “The proposed acquisition represents a key step towards our objective of building the best pubs and beer business in the UK. This exciting combination of the Spirit business with Greene King accelerates our momentum and is in line with our stated strategy of further improving the quality of our pub estate and increasing exposure to the growing eating-out sector.”
Following completion of the offer, Spirit shareholders will hold approximately 28.9% of the combined group and Greene King shareholders will hold approximately 71.1%.
