Brains buys four pubs from Whitbread
Welsh brewer SA Brain has expanded its estate to 225 pubs with the acquisition of four pubs from Whitbread's Beefeater chain for an undisclosed sum.
Three of the newcomers - the George in Mumbles, the Pump House in the Marina and the Watermill in Ogmore - are in Swansea, while the Aubrey Arms in Bonvilston is near Cardiff. New menus that combine modern and traditional dishes are planned, said retail director Philip Lay.
A couple of weeks earlier, Brains also snapped up two venues in Cardiff Bay from Scottish & Newcastle. Bar 38 has now reopened as Salt after a redesign to reflect the style of a New England bar and the installation of a DJ station.
The second pub, the four-bar Via Fossa, will reopen this month with a new food offer and a new, nautical name - Terra Nova - after the ship Captain Scott used on his final trip to Antarctica.
The group is concentrated primarily in South Wales, although it operates seven pubs in Bristol and the West Country.
