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Heineken buys 918 British pubs

Dutch brewer Heineken has purchased Galaxy Pub Estate, the owner of 918 pubs in the UK, from the Royal Bank of Scotland for a cash sum of $646m.

Galaxy’s 918 pubs have been managed by Heineken’s subsidiary Scottish & Newcastle since 1999 on behalf of RBS. Acquiring the pubs adds to Heineken’s existing portfolio of 262 bars it already owns in Britain, making it one of the largest pub owners in the country.

According to Heineken, the purchased properties had an operating profit of £52.3m ($82m) over the last 12 months. Under the terms of the deal, Heineken will pay $44m in the fourth quarter for other costs associated with the acquisition, including terminating leases.

“There continues to be an important role for the great British pub in the UK on-trade, and this acquisition is a significant vote of confidence in the channel,” says Heineken UK managing director Stefan Orlowski. “Owning the Galaxy freehold will allow us to continue the successful transformation of our pub business, concentrate on operational excellence and deliver long-term value from a high-quality, well invested pub estate.”

Jenni Baker, London