SA Brain & Co has sold the freehold and leasehold interest in nearly 100 of its pubs across South Wales in a deal worth tens of millions of pounds. The family-run brewery had put most of its pub property portfolio up for sale last year with a price tag of £87.5m.
Some 95 pubs have now been acquired by European investment firm, Song Capital. The brewer had initially put 99 of its most famous pubs up for sale, including the City Arms and the Halfway in Cardiff. You can see the full list here. It's not yet known which four of those pubs are not included in the deal.
Before, this deal, SA Brain & Co had already sold off the bulk of its pub estate. In 2001, it struck a long-term lease agreement for pub company Marston's to take over the running of around 140 Brains branded pubs.
The latest deal means that the rental income from Marston's will now go to Song Capital on the pub sites it has acquired. The marketing of the portfolio (with 99 pubs) was overseen by property advisory firm Avision Young.
Pubs that formed part of the up for sale portfolio included the Halfway pub in Cardiff the Harbour in Solva and the Dovey Inn in Aberdovey. The exact value of the deal has not been disclosed. However, the proceeds will go towards paying down SA Brain & Co’s remaining bank debt.
Cardiff-based law firm Hugh James acted for SA Brain & Co on its portfolio disposal. For the vast majority of the pubs it had a freehold interest. SA Brain still continue to own and operate its brewery in Cardiff Bay, which supplies beers to the Marston's run Brains pubs.
SA Brain chief executive, Jon Bridge, said: "The executive team at Brains and the Song Capital team have worked diligently together for a period of time to ensure a jointly successful outcome. I would like to thank everyone involved for their dedication and hard work.
"The proceeds of this deal will go towards paying down our remaining bank debt and significantly deleveraging the Brains business. This provides a foundation for our modern state of the art facility, Dragon Brewery, to brew our famous beers in the heart of Cardiff and continue to supply Brains beers to our loyal and new customers for generations to come."
“The team at Hugh James, led by Dan Morgan, have been superb, playing a key role in diligently supporting us through this significant transaction. Our long-standing relationship with Hugh James will certainly continue into the future as we continue to evolve and grow the Brains brand.”
Mr Morgan, a commercial property partner with Hugh James, said: "This is a significant property deal and another step in securing the future of one of Wales’s most iconic brewers. We’re delighted to have supported Brains in achieving this successful outcome.
"As hospitality and leisure businesses across the UK look to refinance, refocus and innovate post Covid it’s a privilege for our legal teams at Hugh James to be able to support the sector at such a crucial time.”
