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Greene King today snapped up 11 pubs from heavily-indebted rival Punch Taverns for £30.4 million.
They include the Bunch of Grapes in Knightsbridge, a Victorian boozer near Harrods which is popular with tourists.
The deal is part of Punch's plans to raise assets to pay down its £5 billion debt pile. It has sold 161 pubs this year, raising £120 million in the process.
Greene King, which also brews IPA beer, funded the deal with the proceeds of a recent £207 million rights issue.
Greene King boss Rooney Anand said he was “really pleased to acquire these high-quality assets”. Punch has characterised its recent disposals as “non-core assets”.
The 11 pubs sold today are in London, the South-East and Scotland. They collectively made profit in the last year of £3.5 million.
Giles Thorley of Punch said the transaction is “in line with our stated strategy of increasing free cash flow and reducing the overall level of our debt, whilst seeking to maintain investment in our high-quality pub estate”.
