Punch sells 200 pubs to Petchey

Punch Taverns has sold 205 leased and tenanted pubs to leisure company Petchey Group for £98m.

The sale is part of Punch's push to streamline its estate following the aquisition of Spirit Group for £2.7b earlier this month.

"The disposal further confirms Punch's ability to profitably divest of pubs from its enlarged estate at attractive prices," said Punch chief executive Giles Thorley.

Petchey Group, a property development and timeshare business, set up Save Investments nine months ago to acquire pubs and will have 288 tenanted properties after the Punch deal.

Chief executive Kailayapillai Ranjan hopes the sale will help Save Investments become a big player in England and Wales. "We are confident that we can make the pub businesses work and we are still looking to acquire more sites," he said.

He added that the company was also looking to buy hotels.

by Tom Bill

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