City Pub Group plc completes trio of London pub acquisitions

The City Pub Group plc has completed the acquisition of three new pubs and the exchange of contracts on one other.

CPG has acquired three sites in London; the Travellers Friend in Woodford and two Jam Tree pubs in Chelsea and Clapham, and has exchanged on a seafront café-style bar in Brighton.

The total consideration for the sites is £8.1m, payable in cash from CPG’s existing resources.

The Travellers Friend pub, also known as ‘the Spivs’, was acquired from private owners in an off-market transaction. Dating back to the 1840s, the freehold pub opened a new dining area last October.

The Jam Tree sites in Clapham’s Old Town and King’s Road in Chelsea were acquired from a small independent pub company and are both leasehold.

The seafront café-style bar in Brighton is a long leasehold with Brighton City Council as the landlord.

Following these latest acquisitions, CPG now has 41 trading sites and the size of its estate (once exchanged pubs are completed and development pubs are opened) will have increased to 46.

Clive Watson, Chairman of the Company, said: “The purchase of these pubs demonstrates CPG’s broad acquisition network. All fit our criteria and will sit well alongside our existing sites.

“The Travellers Friend, the two Jam Tree sites along with the new Brighton seafront venue will help position the business for future growth and expansion in 2019. The existing trading estate further underpins our expectations for 2018.

“Our pipeline remains strong with further deals currently being appraised. Our strong balance sheet will enable us to capitalise on these. We are now being offered pubs from many sources and we are able to transact at attractive prices in a buyer’s market.

“We are confident that we will own c.50 pubs by the end of this year, ahead of the plan set at IPO and have the potential to continue to grow the estate faster than planned.”