Punch sells off 158 pubs

Punch Taverns has agreed the sale of 158 pubs to a retail estate group as it attempts to tackle its “debt mountain” of over £1 billion.

The pub group has announced it has agreed a deal with retail estate investment trust, NewRiver Retail, for £53.5m.

The pubs in question are described as “non-core” but at £340,000 each, Punch Taverns said that the price was “above book value and significantly ahead of average proceeds achieved for previous non-core disposals”.

As reported by the Daily Telegraph, the deal will be complete by 11 September and will leave the company with 2,900 “core” pubs and 550 “non-core” sites.

The pub group has been struggling since 2005 when it underwent a substantial expansion. Last October it managed to cut is borrowings by £600m leaving it with debts of £1.5bn.

Duncan Garrood, Punch Tavern’s new chief executive, said: “This transaction is in line with our stated strategy of disposing pubs within the non-core estate, reducing the overall level of our debt, whilst focusing on our higher quality core pub estate.”

NewRiver Retail has appointed a third-party management company to run the pubs although it is apparently looking into using surplus land for residential or retail use.