Two Chiswick Pubs Get New Owner

Convivial London Pubs has sold Crown & Anchor and Lamb Brewery

The Convivial London Pub chain, which owns the Crown & Anchor and the Lamb Brewery in Chiswick, has sold four of its pubs to Mitchells & Butlers, one of the leading pub and restaurant chains in the UK. The new owner said they would become part of its Castle brand.

The two other outlets sold as part of the deal are The Botanist in Kew and the Mitre Hotel in Grenwich.

Convivial Pubs went on the market with specialist property advisor Christie and Co, last July for offers in excess of £16.9m. The amount paid for the four pubs was not disclosed.

Mitchells & Butlers own 1,600 pubs throughout the UK including Harvester and All Bar One.

Last July, The Lamb Brewery (formerly the Barley Mow), a popular sports and live music venue in Chiswick, was valued at £2.8 million while the Crown & Anchor, which was recently renovated, was listed at £2 million.

Convivial also own The Clifton in St John's Wood and The Hansom Cab in Kensington which are currently under offer from individual acquirers and are both on target to exchange and complete by the middle of November. The Lamb Brewery and the Botanist, have micro-breweries and nearly all the pubs in the portfolio have Grade-II listed status. Convivial London Pubs plc is a group of freehold pubs formed in 2004 as an Enterprise Investment Scheme backed company.


The Convivial Board said it was pleased with all the prices agreed; they were "in excess of the original guide prices" and demonstrate the high quality of the estate as well as the considerable
efforts of the management team, said a statement.The Company will communicate further with its shareholders when the sale of the last pub is completed.

The Board confirmed its intention to conduct a managed voluntary liquidation of the Company
and to return value to its shareholders as soon as possible.

Gary John, Group Property Director, Mitchells & Butlers confirmed: "We are delighted to have
successfully acquired these four high quality freehold London pubs which will become part of
our strongly performing Castle estate. We continue to seek to expand our brands which serve
attractive market segments and from which we can make good returns.”

October 23, 2013