LONDON: The City Pub Group has acquired a 49% stake in Barts Pub Ltd, owner of the iconic Kensington Park Hotel (KPH) in Ladbroke Grove, for £0.75 million.
The Kensington Park Hotel (KPH) is a leasehold pub located 200 metres from Ladbroke Grove tube station. It has large trading areas on the ground and first floors, benefits from seven hotel letting rooms and has potential for a further four letting rooms on the top floor.
Ladbroke Grove is a prime residential area in London and the Company trades very successfully at the Cock & Bottle, Notting Hill, which is located close by.
The City Pub Group will operate the pub under a management contract and has an option to buy the freehold for £5.5m up until March 2024.
Moreover, The City Pub Group increased its stake to 24% in certain companies within the Mosaic Pub and Dining Group, through the acquisition of existing shares in The Galaxy (City) Pub Company Limited, The Pioneer (City) Pub Company Limited and The Sovereign (City) Pub Company Limited (Mosaic Companies) for a total cash consideration of approximately £1.18 million.
The Company acquired a 14% stake in the Mosaic Companies in September 2020 and this transaction takes its total investment to £2.42 million.
The Mosaic Companies own nine prominent pubs, predominantly in London and Birmingham, of which 7 are freehold. Mosaic has a strong balance sheet with over £3m in cash deposits and a very strong freehold asset-backing.
The City Pub Group and Mosaic jointly negotiate their major liquor supply deals (draught beer, spirits, wines, soft drinks) and the Company’s investment will help to cement this relationship. It is the intention of both the Company and Mosaic to assist each other in advancements in technology, especially in areas such as the City Club app.
Clive Watson is an investment consultant to Mosaic. Richard Prickett, Non-Executive Director of the City Pub Group, is a Non-Executive Director of The Pioneer (City) Pub Company Limited.
Clive Watson, Executive Chairman of the City Pub Group, commented: “These two corporate transactions demonstrate that the Company can provide liquidity for shareholders in EIS companies on a staged basis, with the aim of significantly increasing the size of the our portfolio over the next 2-3 years. We will continue to look at selective, high quality single pub acquisitions as well as larger estates.”
