Belhaven seeks funding for expansion plans
The Belhaven Group, which claims to be Scotland's largest regional brewer and pub operator, is trying to raise £24.9m to fund expansion.
The announcement, which sees the firm placing more than two million shares in a firm offer and another 5.5 million shares in an open offer (both close on 10 July), coincided with the announcement of the group's 13th year of growth, a record unbroken since 1989.
In the year to 30 March 2003, Belhaven boosted pre-tax profits by 18% to £10.8m on sales up by 14.5% to £79m. A key factor in its growth has been the expansion of its pub estate from 152 to 189 sites, which now comprise 73 managed houses and 116 tenanted pubs.
At Belhaven Pubs, operating profits increased by 29.7% to £8.99m and sales surged ahead by 31% to £33m.
Chief executive Stuart Ross said the company's policy of focusing on freehold sites (which now amount to 91% of its estate) had strengthened its balance sheet and given it operational flexibility. "We have always been extremely wary of expensive leasehold sites in major city centres," he said.
Belhaven's pubs, which are all in Scotland, are a spread of community bars, high-street pubs, and young/student venues.
The biggest contribution came from the managed estate, which boosted profits by 37.4% to £6.21m and turnover by 36.4% to £24.56m.
Boost for Pubs'n'Bars
London-based pub operator Pubs'n'Bars told shareholders last week its like-for-like sales were 2.4% ahead of last year, when turnover was boosted by the World Cup. Chairman Mike Mealey added that its freehold estate had been boosted to 25 with the acquisition of a site in Welling, Kent.
The group's policy of replacing low-margin pubs with freeholds has continued, with the sale of a leasehold in Brighton, and a second to be completed next month, that will net the company a total of £75,000.
The group operates 64 pubs. Most are in London and the South-east of England, with 10 in the West Country.
Gillis quits Greene King
Pub operator Greene King is seeking a new managing director for its managed pub division to replace Neil Gillis, who will leave the company after its annual general meeting on 29 August.
Gillis is to become the sixth chief executive in two years for the Esporta Group of racquet, health and fitness clubs, now owned by venture capitalist Duke Street Capital.
Gillis joined Greene King in January 2000 to run its Pub Company division, which now comprises about 585 managed pubs, and he is credited with turning Greene King into one of the UK's most dynamic and profitable pub operators.
Greene King's share price has doubled from 320p to more than 780p since Gillis joined the company.
Under his tenure, Greene King Pub Company has achieved annual growth in excess of 8%, and claims to have the second-fastest-growing like-for-like sales figures in the industry.
Gillis attributed much of his success to the introduction of "flex management" into the managed estate. This allows each pub manager or couple to run the pub as if it were their own business, rather than simply following directives from head office.