Admiral buys 376 pubs from KUC

Admiral Taverns has agreed to buy 376 tenanted pubs from KUC (Public Houses) for £137.5m in cash.

KUC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Since its formation in 2000, it has built up an estate of largely community local and rural pubs in the North West, North East, Midlands and Wales of England.

The acquisition, which is expected to complete by the end of the month, boosts the number of pubs owned by Admiral to 1,200.

"The Pyramid estate increases the size and quality of our existing estate and has a strong geographic fit," said Lynne D'Arcy, chief operating officer at Admiral.

"Again, we have moved quickly to secure this deal and look forward to pursuing other opportunities to continue to grow our estate."

Admiral, a joint venture between the Landenberg and Rosenberg families, was set up in March 2004 to build a tenanted pub estate.

It is currently selling 57 pubs through propoerty agents Christie & Co.

By Angela Frewin

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