Tennent’s and Magners owner invests in Admiral Taverns
TENNENT’S and Magners owner C&C Group is to acquire a stake in pubco Admiral Taverns.
The £37 million equity investment by C&C represents 47% of the share capital of the pub company, which has 845 pubs across the UK, 15 of which are in Scotland.
Together with Proprium Capital Partners and the management of Admiral itself, the entire issued share capital of the company will be acquired.
C&C said it believes the investment will deliver “significant economic and route-to-market benefit” to its GB business, including “participation in a resilient and growing earnings stream from a quality, tenanted pub estate” and direct access to 845 pubs through a procurement and supply agreement.
C&C Group chief executive Stephen Glancey said the tenanted pub model “is a key component of the pub industry” in the UK.
“For C&C, this is an attractive opportunity to create a new long term investment in the important on-trade channel, without taking significant financial and operational risk,” said Glancey.
“The investment will provide our brands with improved distribution in some of the best community pubs across the UK, with an opportunity to enhance on-trade penetration further over time.”
Kevin Georgel, chief executive of Admiral Taverns, said the deal will give Admiral the platform to “continue our development and execute our growth plans”.
“Our strategy remains unapologetically consistent and I look forward to working with the support of our new investors to continue to build on the significant progress the business has made over the last five years and take advantage of the opportunities within our markets, as and when they arise.”
