Spirit Pub Company

Spirit Pub Company plc (Spirit) was a pub and restaurant company in the United Kingdom based in Burton upon Trent and originally formed by Punch Taverns. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Greene King in June 2015.^[2]

Spirit Pub Company plc

Company type	Public
Traded as	LSE: PUB
Industry	Pubs
Founded	August 2011
Defunct	June 2015
Headquarters	Burton upon Trent, England, UK
Key people	Mike Tye (chief executive​ officer) Walker Boyd (non-executive​ chairman)
Revenue	£ 800.9 million (2014)[1]
Operating income	£ 121.2 million (2014)[1]
Net income	£ 99.4 million (2014)[1]

The Redan in Bayswater, one of Spirit’s pubs (September 2009)

History

Spirit Group was originally formed by Punch Taverns in February 1999 to operate its managed pub estate including pubs acquired from Allied Domecq.^[3] Spirit Group was demerged by Punch in February 2002.^[3] Spirit Group then acquired Scottish & Newcastle’s retail business, before itself being re acquired by Punch in May 2006.^[3] Spirit was demerged from Punch Taverns for a second time in August 2011.^[4]

The shareholders accepted a takeover offer from Greene King in January 2015. The takeover was completed in June 2015.^[5]

Operations

Spirit had seven hundred and seventy seven branded managed pubs throughout the United Kingdom in August 2013, and a further 452 leased pubs.^[6] Spirit employed an average of 16,800 people in 2013.^[7]

Its properties were valued at £1,375m by August 2013. It had net debt of £891m including £147m of interest rate swap obligations.^[6] It proposed a restructuring of its bond obligations.^[8]

Taylor Walker

There were 120 pubs of Taylor Walker mostly in West and Central London, which competed with Nicholsons. The name is taken from the Taylor Walker Brewery, which was founded in 1730 in Stepney. Following the takeover by Greene King the brand Taylor Walker was retired, with pubs being brought under the brand Greene King.^[9]

Other brands

Spirit’s other brands were Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square, Flaming Grill, John Barras, and Original Pub Company. In addition, Spirit Pub Company operated Wacky Warehouse, the largest soft play and activity centre brand in the United Kingdom and Good Night Inns, a group of hotels next to their pub restaurants.^[10]

References

• Companies portal

1. "Annual Results 2014" (PDF) (Press release). Spirit Pub Company. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
2. "GREENE KING COMPLETES SPIRIT DEAL AND FORMS THE UK'S LEADING MANAGED PUB COMPANY". greeneking.co.uk. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
3. "History". Spirit Pub. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
4. Wingett, Mark (1 August 2011). "Spirit shares start trading after Punch demerger". The Publican's Morning Advertizer. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
5. "Recommended Offer for Spirit Pub Company PLC ("Spirit") Greene King PLC ("Greene King") to be effected by means of a Scheme of Arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006" (PDF). Spirit Pub. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
6. "Spirit Group Annual Results 2013" (PDF) (Press release). Spirit Pub Company. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
7. "Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Spirit Pub. p. 73. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
8. Fletcher, Nick. "Spirit Pub Company moves higher on bond restructuring plan". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
9. "Taylor Walker & Co Ltd". Retrieved 22 December 2014.
10. "Home page". Spirit Pub. Retrieved 22 December 2014.