Avebury Holdings Limited gives pub group extra Punch

Taylor Wessing has advised the management of Avebury Holdings Limited, the privately owned tenanted pub group, on the sale of its entire issued share capital to Punch Taverns plc, with an acquisition value standing at approximately £219m.  Clifford Chance advised Vision Capital, the majority shareholders in Avebury. The acquisition completed today.

Avebury operates a leased and tenanted pub estate of 409 pubs located throughout England and Wales, with 95% of its estate being freehold or long leasehold.  Formed in 1997, Avebury underwent a management buyout in 2004, resulting in its current portfolio of high quality, cash generative pubs.  This latest deal follows on from its recent sale of 253 pubs to Admiral Taverns on which Taylor Wessing also advised.

Punch Taverns, with an estate comprising 7,800 pubs, has a strategy for expansion through both organic growth and targeted acquisitions.

The Taylor Wessing team advising the Avebury management was led by real estate partner, John Whitfield, and included Paul Burke (corporate partner), Angela Randall (corporate associate), Peter Jackson (tax), Roger McDonald (real estate partner) and Cyrille West and Carolyn Dean (real estate associates).

Punch Taverns plc was advised by Slaughter and May