Spirit Group confirms S&N Retail purchase

Spirit Group ended months of speculation last week by announcing confirmation of its £2.5b acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle's (S&N) managed pub, restaurant and budget hotel group.

Some 99.7% of S&N's shareholders agreed to the sale of its 1,450 pubs in a vote.

A new management team has been put in place to oversee the integration period following the resignation of former S&N Retail chairman and managing director, Bob Ivell.

Ivell and Nigel Turpin, S&N Retail's planning director, are to stay on in an advisory capacity to aid with the transition period, however.

Karen Jones, chief executive of Spirit, will now lead the newly created 2,600-strong group, Spirit Amber, which is owned by private equity firms Texas Pacific, Blackstone, CVC and Merrill Lynch Global

S&N received more than a dozen expressions of interest after putting its business up for sale in April. Spirit eventually emerged as the winner after a close-run battle with rival Laurel Group, backed by Cinven.