333 Pubs Sold To Private Equity
Friday 20th August 2010
GMB COMMENT ON NEWS THAT MITCHELL
AND BUTLER HAVE SOLD 333
PUBS TO PRIVATE EQUITY COMPANY TDR
CAPITAL
As a Punch Taverns tenant paying a dry rent over three
times what VOA assess as the open market rent for my pub on top of
the wet rent I say to staff in these 333 pubs "be afraid –be very
afraid" says GMB organiser
GMB, the union for pub tenants, commented today on the news that
Mitchells &
Butlers Plc, the U.K. owner of the All Bar One chain, plans to
sell 333 pubs for 373 million pounds ($580 million) to Stonegate
Pub Company Ltd. The sale of these outlets to Stonegate, the pub
company controlled by TDR Capital LLP, will be completed by mid-
November. The two founding partners of private equity company TDR
Capital are Manjit Dale and Stephen Robertson who were involved in
the financial engineering for what is now the Punch Taverns
debacle.
Hayley Brennan GMB Lead Organiser for tied tenants said
"Here we go again – up hill and down dale with these two
who enriched themselves at the expense of our members in Punch
Taverns.
Manjit Dale and Stephen
Robertson have come back for more pubs for
only one reason – to further enrich themselves.
As a Punch Taverns tenant paying a dry rent over three
times what VOA assess as the open market rent for my pub on top of
the wet rent I say to staff in these 333 pubs "be afraid – be very
afraid"."
End
Contact: Hayley Brennan, GMB Lead Organiser
07850 919 933 or 02392 632 699 or GMB Press Office Steve Pryle on
07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 251823.