Fri 28th Aug 2015 - Greene King sells 16 ‘competition’ pubs, Heineken buys 13 Greene King sells 16 ‘competition’ pubs, Heineken buys 13: Greene King has sold the 16 pubs that it agreed to dispose of to meet regulatory concerns in the wake of its acquisition of Spirit Pub Company. Heineken has bought 13 of the 16 pubs, primarily in Oxfordshire and Nottingham. The company is to integrate the pubs into its existing leased and tenanted estate in the medium tem. It is on record has having “no plans to roll-out a managed model’. Rooney Anand, Greene King chief executive, said: “We have exchanged contracts with buyers for the 16 pubs we were required to sell by the CMA. We are therefore close to completing the remedial actions required of us to receive unconditional CMA approval for the acquisition of Spirit Pub Company. Once the transactions complete, there will be no further obligations on Greene King. Although the CMA process was intensive, we reached a sensible conclusion. The fact that we only had to dispose of 16 pubs, out of a combined total of 3,100, highlights the compelling strategic rationale for the deal, thus avoiding unwanted business distraction and minimising the lost profit from any disposals. We are moving ahead with the integration of our two businesses and will update on progress in December at our interim results.” David Forde, UK managing director for Heineken, which owns Star Pubs & Bars, said: “We recently announced an investment of £30m in our Star Pubs & Bars leased and tenanted estate by the end of 2015. And now I’m pleased that we can add to our 1,050 pub estate with these 13 new pubs. This acquisition, and our record investment, is a demonstration of our long term commitment to the great British pub, and to growing successful businesses for our lessees. These pubs are all in excellent locations and have significant development potential within the existing Star Pubs & Bars business.” Once completed, Star Pubs & Bars will work closely to support the operators of the new pubs, to ensure a smooth transition into the existing estate. The acquisition was a straight purchase for an undisclosed sum and it is anticipated that the deal will be legally completed by the end of September 2015. Among the sites sold to Heineken are: The Fox Inn, a freehold Spirit pub in Boars Hill, Oxford; The Fish, a Greene King freehold in Abingdon, Oxfordshire; The Fox, a freehold Greene King pub in Abingdon, Oxfordshire; The Packhorse, a Greene King freehold in Abingdon, Oxfordshire; The Crusader, a Greene King freehold in Nottingham; The Coach and Horses, a Spirit freehold in Castle Bromwich; the Fairham Hotel, a Spirit long leasehold pub in Clifton, Nottingham; the Gedling Inn, a Spirit freehold in Gedling, Nottingham; The Old Colonial, a Spirit freehold in Compton Acres, Nottingham; The Raven, a Spirit freehold in Birmingham; The Hare, a Greene King freehold in Wantage, Oxfordshire; and The Plough, a Greene King freehold in Wantage, Oxfordshire and the Brewery Tap, Abingdon. The Ladygrove, a Greene King long leasehold pub in Didcot, and The Plough Inn, a Spirit freehold in Burlesdon, Southampton have not been bought by Star Pubs & Bars.