Greene King buys 11 Punch pubs for £30.4m

Greene King has paid Punch Taverns £30.4m for 11 freehold managed pubs, the brewer and pub operator announced today.

The deal, which is due to complete on 1 July, will be financed from the funds raised by the company's recent rights issue.

Seven of the pubs are in London and include the Bunch of Grapes in Knightsbridge and St. Margaret's in Twickenham, whilst four are in Scotland including the Burnbrae in Bearsden, near Glasgow.

For the financial year ended 23 August 2008, these pubs generated earnings before interest and tax of £3.55m.

Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King, said: "I am really pleased we have been able to acquire these high quality assets, further strengthening our presence in two key geographies for us.

"They also match the criteria we set out when announcing our recent rights issue. They will be seamlessly integrated into our retail operations in both England and Scotland and we look forward to operating these pubs successfully over the coming years."

Meanwhile, Punch Taverns has announced that it will be rebranding its managed and tenanted businesses.

The managed operation, formerly known as Spirit Group, is to be renamed the Punch Pub Company, while the leased division becomes Punch Partnerships.

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By Daniel Thomas

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