Derbyshire pub business The Pub People has been sold to investment management company Downing LLP.
The Alfreton business has 49 pubs and the new owner said they plan to add to that number. It has been sold by shareholders Andrew Crawford and Kevin Sammons, and Downing has merged it with its existing investment in Autumn Pubs 鈥 which has been managed under contract by Pub People since 2012.
Mr Sammons has headed the business for more than 28 years, establishing it as one of the top independent pub companies in the Midlands, with an estate based in and around Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, and Lincoln.
Under the new ownership he will move into a non-executive role, while Andrew Crawford will move into the role of managing director.
Mr Sammons said: 鈥淚 am proud to have led and built this successful company, along with the many loyal and exceptional employees who have been important contributors to that success.
鈥淭hey can now continue the Pub People journey along with Downing and fulfil their and the Group鈥檚 potential.
鈥淚 am extremely grateful for the support Downing has given us over the last 10 years. It is now time for me to step back and hand over to a worthy and capable successor and his team.鈥
Mr Crawford said: 鈥淜evin and I have worked very well together as a management team for over 20 years.
鈥淲e have together built a company we can be truly proud of, but now there are new chapters to be written.
鈥淲hile there are numerous economic challenges on the horizon, we have a strong team and with support from Downing the group can continue to invest and grow its high-quality pub estate.鈥
Downing is a London-based, sustainable investment manager which looks after 拢1.7 billion of assets across its various funds, investment trusts and tax-efficient products.
Its Development Capital team partners with management teams to help realise their growth ambitions and maximise the potential of their business by providing flexible funding and strategic support.
Typically it makes initial investments of between 拢5 million and 拢50 million and focuses on sectors including healthcare, education, housing, leisure and hospitality.
Associate director Nick Carter said: 鈥淜evin and Andy have been trusted and respected partners of ours for more than a decade.
鈥淲e wish Kevin well and we are excited to take the Group to the next stage under Andy鈥檚 direction.鈥
The Downing team that on the deal was made up of Colin Corbally, Gautam Chhabra and Nick Carter. Downing was advised by Michelmores, HMT and K3 Advisory.
The Pub People was advised by Browne Jacobsen and BHP.
Sign up for your free East Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the East Midlands including Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our
