Brockton Capital’s push into the beleaguered pub sector paid off this week with the sale of its Realpubs joint venture to Greene King for £53.1m.
The private property fund and operating partner Realpubs had invested close to £40m in building up the portfolio of 14 London pubs since 2008. The sites have a forecast average EBITDA of £450,000 for 2011.
“We converted a leased and tied estate into a freehold, untied estate,” said Brockton partner David Zimmermann. “The sector has had a tough time in the past few years, with the smoking ban and declining beer sales, but we have made very positive returns.”
He added: “If you are asset-backed, have decent locations and serve good food, you can do well.”
Brockton also converted and sold many upper floors of pub premises for residential use.
Realpubs founders Malcolm Heap and Nick Pring will be retained for a minimum of two years to spearhead Greene King’s London growth.
