Punch Taverns has announced plans to restructure its debt by selling off £435m of properties. The group aims to sell 370-400 pubs during the current financial year out of its 4,437-strong portfolio, according to an announcement made today.
Punch Taverns had 429 pubs from its non-core portfolio on the market as of December 2012, with a combined value of £111m.
The company had “identified restructuring solutions” for the two securitisations that provide its financing. These are the Punch A securitisation, consisting of £1.47bn of debt, and the Punch B securitisation of £914m. Punch Taverns plans to reduce securitisation B by £229m with immediate effect, and to cut contractual debt repayments by £463m within the next five years.
The proposals have won the support of shareholders representing more than 50% of the firm’s share capital.
sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
