Michelmores advises St Austell Brewery on acquisition of The Bath Pub Company

Published September 12th 2023

Authors

Richard Cobb

Richard Walford

Michelmores has advised Cornwall’s St Austell Brewery on the acquisition of The Bath Pub Company, growing its 184-strong West Country pub estate.

The deal, which completed for an undisclosed amount, sees the independent company take over the operation of four of Bath’s most well-known pubs.

The Locksbrook Inn, The Moorfields and The Hare & Hounds bring the total number of sites in St Austell Brewery’s managed pub estate to 43. The Marlborough Tavern is now part of the company’s leased and tenanted estate and will continue to be operated by Justin Sleath, The Bath Pub Company’s co-founder and commercial director.

The acquisition of The Bath Pub Company further strengthens St Austell Brewery’s presence in and around Bath where it already owns four tenanted pubs – The Griffin, The Swan, The Hop Pole and The Salamander. Michelmores also helped the company acquire Bath Ales in 2017, a deal which included a brewery in Warmley and a local distribution network.

The Michelmores team advising St Austell on the transaction was led by Partners Richard Cobb and Richard Walford, with support from partners Karen Williams, Cathy Bryant and David Thompson and lawyers Victoria Miller, Jonny Lane, Siobhan Murphy, Gruff Cartwright, Zilah Nelson and Justin Barrow.

Richard Cobb comments: “We always enjoy working with St Austell brewery and are pleased to have helped the team secure The Bath Pub Company. This is an exciting acquisition of a high quality and well-located portfolio of pubs with substantial investment and gives four more good reasons to be in Bath!”

Kevin Georgel, Chief Executive, St Austell Brewery said: “We’re extremely proud to become the new owners of such a high-quality and well-respected pub company in Bath.

“We are fully committed to developing the quality and size of our pub estate. As such, we are investing significantly in our existing pubs, whilst also acquiring new sites and businesses such as The Bath Pub Company. The Locksbrook Inn, The Moorfields, The Hare & Hounds and The Marlborough Tavern all have a strong alignment with our long-term plans and are a perfect fit for us, in terms of market and consumer positioning.”

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