Punch offloads 200 pubs

Punch Taverns agreed to sell 205 of its pubs today after the UK’s biggest operator reviewed its estate in the wake of a £2.7bn (€4bn) deal.

The sites – bought by the Petchey Group of Companies for £98m (€144m) – are being offloaded as Punch looks to meet competition requirements following the acquisition of 1,800 Spirit bars and restaurants earlier this month.

The deal added to the Punch portfolio of around 8,200 sites, taking it beyond market leader Enterprise Inns in terms of size.

Punch chief executive Giles Thorley said the pubs were chosen according to economic and geographic criteria, such as there being several Punch bars within a small radius. The location of the bars has not been revealed.

The Petchey group, which is based in Ilford, Essex, encompasses a range of businesses including property investment and a holiday booking agency.