Admiral Taverns snaps up Heineken’s excess pubs following Punch Taverns acquisition

Admiral Taverns today announced it has reached an agreement to take on some of the pubs shed by Heineken following its acquisition of Punch Taverns.

Admiral, which was itself bought by new owners in September, has formed a partnership with Scottish hospitality group G1 to acquire a portfolio of 29 pubs.

Due to the ongoing sale of Admiral to new investors C&C and Proprium and members of its management team, G1 will acquire all pubs in the portfolio, with Admiral buying the 17 sites in England and Wales once its ownership transition has finished. G1 will hold on to the 12 pubs in Scotland.

Chief executive Kevin Georgel said the acquisition was part of a wider expansion plan for Admiral.

“This acquisition is early testament to our commitment to this growth strategy and I am delighted to be able to welcome these high quality licensees and pubs in to the Admiral business,” he said.

The deal follows a move by Heineken to sell off pubs from its Star Pubs & Bars business in order to appease the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after its acquisition of Punch Taverns. The 29-strong portfolio includes some former Punch sites as well as Star pubs.

Read more: Heineken’s Punch Taverns takeover green lit by competition watchdog

Heineken closed the deal to buy 1,900 pubs from Punch in September. Another buyer, Patron Capital, acquired 1,300 Punch sites.