Young's buys Geronimo Inns for £60m

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

Young & Co Brewery has snapped up Geronimo Inns for £60m from a couple who launched it with the aim of reviving the British pub.

Pint of Beer

Pub revival: Geronimo Inns was set up with the hope of improving the British pub

The London-based firm bought the pub group - which operates 26 individually-designed properties - from Rupert and Jo Clevely and investment firm Penta Capital, a majority shareholder.

The couple, who own 33% of the business, are set to pocket around £8m from the sale, which includes debt of £35.5m.

Mrs Clevely initially started Geronimo with a business partner in 1995 on returning from Australia with ideas about how to transform British pubs for the better.

Her husband, who joined the business in 2000 after leaving his position as marketing director at champagne firm Veuve Cliquot, explained: 'We had been living in Australia where the pubs were just great.

'In Britain, in 1995, every single pub had squelchy carpets, a poor range of wines and food was appalling, so we saw a massive opportunity to improve pubs.'

He added: 'I now think English pubs have overtaken Australian pubs in quality.'

Mr Clevely will stay on as managing director of Geronimo - which generates an average weekly turnover of £23,000 per pub - and join the Young's board as an executive director.

Meanwhile, Mrs Clevely will continue to work on pub design, which is central to Geronimo's core strategy.

Mr Clevely said: 'Obviously, when you've built a business with your wife and done it all together, you have mixed emotions. But we're really excited about this next chapter and where Young's can take the business.'

The acquisition will increase Young's managed pub estate by 20% to 148 pubs, taking the total estate to 247 pubs.

Young's said it hoped Geronimo will introduce it to a new demographic, and bring expertise in operating in high footfall locations, such as its pubs at Heathrow, St Pancras International train station and the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, London.

Geronimo also has an 'attractive pipeline of potential new sites', it said.

Young's chief executive Stephen Goodyear added: 'The acquisition fits very well with our expansion strategy which is focused on high quality, food-led, managed houses in the London area, a strategy that we will continue to pursue with both the Young's and the Geronimo formats.'

Young's, which operates pubs in London and the Home Counties, posted a 1.4% increase in pre-tax profits to £19.4m for the year to March 29.

Its shares are flat today at 610p.

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