Hawthorn sold to Admiral Taverns for £222.3m: NewRiver REIT has entered into an agreement to sell its community pubs business Hawthorn Leisure REIT to Admiral Taverns for £222.3m. Allan Lockhart, chief executive of NewRiver, said: “Over recent years, we have grown Hawthorn to become the UK’s leading community and wet-led pub business. As a consequence of this, we received significant interest from a range of potential buyers for Hawthorn, following the divestment plan we announced in April 2021. We have now agreed the sale of Hawthorn which, once completed, will deliver on our key priority to reset loan to value, strengthening our balance sheet and enabling us to focus on executing our resilient retail strategy. I would like to thank the entire Hawthorn team and, in particular, Mark Davies, who the board had previously mandated to lead the divestment of Hawthorn, for their professionalism and dedication throughout the process, which has delivered a great result for NewRiver shareholders. Alongside the new dividend policy which we announced recently in our full year results, and increased transactional evidence in the parts of the retail investment market that we are focused on, we look forward with genuine confidence.” Admiral Taverns is a wet-led community pub operator, with approximately 1,000 pubs across England, Wales and Scotland. Hawthorn has 674 leased and tenanted and operator managed community pubs. Mark Davies, chief executive of Hawthorn, said: “Throughout our sale and initial public offering process, we have been blown away by the high level of interest that has been expressed in Hawthorn, which is testament to the high-quality business we’ve built and the quality of our people. Every investor that we met with during the process who got to know Hawthorn spoke very highly of the pubs we own, the way we run our business, and the people within the company. In a few short years, Hawthorn has become one of the most well-respected pub-owning companies in the UK, with a best-in-class operating platform, a high-quality management team, and industry-leading licensee satisfaction scores. I've always said that the strength of this business is its people, and I’d like to thank every single member of our team, for the fun, challenges and achievements we’ve shared together. When we created a community pub company seven years ago little did we know we would be recognised at the top of our brilliant industry in such a short space of time as a leading leased and tenanted and operator managed pub company and we can all be very proud. Until the completion of the deal, our teams will continue to do what they’ve always done – provide best-in-class support for our pub partners and operators, working in partnership with them to help them run great community pubs. The last eighteen months have shown just how vital the community pub is to the social fabric of this country, and I’m incredibly proud of the role we have played in helping our pub partners and operators not just survive this most challenging period, but also ensure they’ve been able to come out fighting on the other side. It has been an honour to run this business as chief executive, and while I’m disappointed not to be able to steer the company into this new chapter, Chris and the Admiral team will inherit 674 thriving community pubs and a fantastic group of highly committed, loyal and talented people and we wish them and the new owners every success for the future.”

Updated Propel Premium database of multi-site companies to include 12,094-word report on new additions, another new database also released on Friday: Propel Premium subscribers will receive an exclusive report on the new additions to the database of multi-site companies of 12,094 words when it is released on Friday, 30 July, at midday. The Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, will include 71 additions and is exclusively available to subscribers. The 71 new companies operate 477 sites between them. The 12,094-word report details the new additions to the database while information on all companies has been updated during the past month. The go-to database has the most comprehensive multi-site operator information in the sector – it provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different, and what each business specialises in. In a new feature this year, there is a synopsis of what the business does and significant news associated with it. Premium subscribers will also receive a new database at exactly the same time this Friday (23 July). A Guide To New Openings will focus on the newly announced openings and upcoming launches in the sector and will be updated every month. Meanwhile, subscribers also have access to another database called Turnover & Profits Blue Book. The Blue Book, which is also updated every month, provides an insight into UK operator turnover and profitability over five years, profit conversion and directors’ earnings. Premium subscribers already receive access to Propel’s library of lockdown videos and Friday Wrap interviews and now also have access to a curated video library of the sector’s finest leaders and entrepreneurs, offering their insights on running outstanding businesses in the sector. Propel Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel insights editor Mark Wingett. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The regular single subscription rate of £395 plus VAT for operators and £495 plus VAT for suppliers remains the same. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to sign up.