JD Wetherspoon acquires three Orchid pubs: Managed operator JD Wetherspoon has bought three pubs from rival managed operator Orchid for an undisclosed sum, Propel Morning Briefing understands. The company has bought The Waggon, 2 Market Place, Chapeltown, Sheffield (population: 10,047), The Clothiers, 56 High Street, Yeadon, West Yorkshire (population: 11,449) and Parsons Barn, Frobisher Way, Shoeburyness, Essex (population: 19,911). Propel Morning Briefing understands the deal is due to complete today. The pubs are part of a small parcel of sites that Orchid has decided to exit – Wear Inns bought two more sites from the Orchid disposal estate a fortnight ago. In its most recent financial year, Orchid Pub Company, headed by Rufus Hall, reported that average weekly sales per pub climbed by £200 each in 2011, compared to the year before, to hit £13,900. The company stated: “The increase in turnover has been driven by a combination of our continued investment in people, providing customers with high quality food, drink and service, and the acquisition of a further ten pubs in 2011. Trading for the first three quarters of the year ending December 2012 has performed ahead of expectation which has been most encouraging given the adverse impact of the wettest British summer for 100 years and the slowdown in sales experienced during the Olympic period. Across these months our like-for-like sales growth has out-performed the market as measured by the Peach Tracker and Ebitda conversion has also been ahead of expectation.” The company also reported that its Parkmill Pub Management Company produced an income for the company of £1,060,000 in the year. A total of £20m will be invested in Orchid refurbishments in the next three years. The company stated: “The focus of this investment will be in the core estate, which has largely been uninvested since 2007 and repositioning some units to more food-led offers. By the end of the 2012 financial year we are on course to have reinvested around £3.5m on 19 houses.” Orchid restructured in February, with Deutsche Bank becoming its sole financial backer. Orchid turnover stands at £179.6m, up 3.7 per cent in its most recent year.