Fuller's Offloads The Six Bells in Major Round of Disposals
One of 37 pubs sold to the Admiral Taverns group
The Six Bells on Brentford High Street. Picture: Fuller's
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May 29, 2024
Fuller, Smith & Turner P.L.C. (Fuller’s) has announced the sale of 37 of its pubs to Admiral Taverns including The Six Bells in Brentford.
The portfolio is from the Tenanted Inns Division and has been let go for £18.3million. A full list of the pubs disposed of has yet to be published but it is understood that the only one in west London is the Six Bells.
The tenants Karen Morris and Jacquie Nesbitt attracted national press attention over last winter by offering soup, tea and warm clothing to people in the area charging nothing to those in genuine need.
Once the deal completes, which is anticipated to be next month, Fuller’s will be left with 154 tenanted pubs for which it owns the freehold in addition to 179 properties in its Managed Pubs and Hotels Division.
A tenanted pub is run by the tenant as their own business with a leasehold agreement with the freeholder while a Managed pub is run by a salaried employee of Fuller’s.
The company says that it remains “committed to owning and operating both Managed and Tenanted pubs as an integral part of the Company’s future strategy” and that the sale is to strengthen its balance sheet and provide funds for investment in existing pubs and future acquisitions.
It continues, “The Company proactively manages its pub estate, continually evaluating strategic opportunities and believes that the disposal of this portfolio to Admiral allows the Company to focus on the development of its retained Managed and Tenanted estates. “
The 37 pubs sold generated £1.3 million of profit before tax for the 52 weeks to 30 March 2024.
Admiral Taverns is a tenanted pubs specialist founded in 2003 with 1,600 pubs across the UK. It offers a package of support to its licensees including marketing, from property management to training. It is ultimately owned by US private equity firm Proprium Capital Partners.
Chris Jowsey, chief of Admiral Taverns, said, “Despite the complexities of the macro-economic environment, across our estate we are seeing community pubs, and specifically wet-led establishments, maintaining their popularity amongst locals as people continue to enjoy going out for an affordable treat with family and friends.
“Wet-led, community pubs have demonstrated real resilience over recent times, and we remain optimistic that our nurturing ethos, entrepreneurial licensees and high-quality estate continues to position the group well to be at the forefront of opportunities in our wider market.”
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