Fuller’s splashes out to boost London portfolio
FULLER, Smith & Turner is paying £16m for five pubs as it moves to boost its estate in time for the Olympics next summer.
Fuller’s is buying The Wellington at Waterloo, The Pavilion End and Bluu in the City, The Hand & Flower in Kensington Olympia and the Red Lion Hotel in Wendover, Bucks
The seller is Marston’s, which is seeking cash to build new pubs in areas such as retail parks.
Fuller’s managing director Simon Emeny said: “These acquisitions are high turnover managed houses with a similar trading style to our own where we feel Fuller’s can add value. They emphasise our continued focus on London.”
The brewer of London Pride recently lost out on a bid to buy the Capital Pub Company to rival Greene King, which paid £70m for 34 boozers around town.
The acquisition includes two of the City’s popular watering holes – the Pavilion End on Watling Street near Mansion House, and Bluu Brasserie, located in a Grade II listed building between Moorgate and Bank stations.
The five acquisitions take the total number of pubs in the Fuller’s estate to 365.