City Pub Company gears up for float on AIM next year after £10m fundraising
The owners of The City Pub Company have announced plans to float the pub chain on London's junior market next year after raising £10m to fund its expansion.
The group, which operates two separate divisions – City Pub Company East and City Pub Company West – was founded five years ago by former Fuller's boss John Roberts and entrepreneurs Clive Watson and David Bruce, who sold their previous business Capital Pub to Greene King for £93m.
It now owns 25 pubs, including The Phene in Chelsea where the stars of reality TV show Made in Chelsea are regularly filmed, and announced its latest deal today to buy Inn on the Beach on Hayling Island in Portsmouth.
Watson, City's chairman, hopes to add another 10 pubs over the next 18 months ahead of a float on AIM.
“Our strong Christmas trading and our imminent new openings in Bristol, Winchester and Cambridge, as well as in London, will help grow our business and significantly drive financial performance," he said. "We look forward to adding more high quality pubs to our estate over the next 18 months prior to our anticipated AIM flotation.”
On top of its acquisition, City Pub Company announced it has raised over £10m through convertible preference shares, taking the total amount raised since 2011 to £38m. The latest fundraising will help reducing its gearing and finance further expansion.