Nick Leslau’s Prestbury is selling a tranche of Spirit pubs as part of a plan to de-gear and strengthen its portfolio.
CBRE has been instructed to sell the package of 24 pubs, codenamed Project Oak, for £42.4m – an 8% yield.
The properties are let for a further 31 years to Spirit Pub Company and provide an annual income of £3.6m.
Nine of the pubs – 45% of the rent – trade under the Chef & Brewer brand.
Leslau bought the properties in 2004 as part of a £500m package of 220 pubs. Since then the portfolio has been reduced to around 150 assets. Leslau is keen to sell more to create a collection of prime UK pubs.
A source said: “The portfolio is being sold partly because the market for pubs has changed dramatically. Also, they are seeking to de-gear the portfolio.”
The pub sector has been hit by the recent inclement weather, with March sales falling by 3% on a like-for-like basis, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.
Spirit’s circa 800 managed pubs continue to outperform the market, with like-for-like sales up 1.4% in the 28 weeks ended 2 March.
Like-for-like net income across its leased estate of around 500 pubs was down 2.9%. The group’s profit before tax before exception items was up 3% to £20m during the period.
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
