Cornwall’s St Austell Brewery has announced that it has acquired The Bath Pub Company.
The independent brewer and pub company, which operates an estate of 184 venues across the region, said the acquisition would further strengthen and grow its West country pub estate.
The deal, which was completed on Monday (September 11), for an undisclosed amount, will see St Austell Brewery take over the operation of four of Bath's pubs.
The Locksbrook Inn, The Moorfields and The Hare & Hounds will bring the total number of sites in St Austell Brewery’s managed pub estate to 43. The Marlborough Tavern is now part of the company’s leased and tenanted estate and will continue to be operated by Justin Sleath, The Bath Pub Company’s co-founder and commercial director.
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Kevin Georgel, chief executive, St Austell Brewery said: “We’re extremely proud to become the new owners of such a high-quality and well-respected pub company in Bath.
“We are fully committed to developing the quality and size of our pub estate. As such, we are investing significantly in our existing pubs, whilst also acquiring new sites and businesses such as The Bath Pub Company. The Locksbrook Inn, The Moorfields, The Hare & Hounds and The Marlborough Tavern all have a strong alignment with our long-term plans and are a perfect fit for us, in terms of market and consumer positioning.
“We’re looking forward to working closely with the team and building on Joe and Justin’s success in this next chapter.”
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Joe Cussens, managing director and co-founder, The Bath Pub Company added: “St Austell Brewery is a fellow independent business, rooted in the West Country, which we have respected and admired for a long time. In fact, I first met Kevin Georgel back in 2006 when we initially took on The Marlborough Tavern.
“Justin and I are very confident that, as a company which shares our values, St Austell Brewery is the custodian best suited for the next stage of The Bath Pub Company’s development.
“We’re very proud of the business as it is today and know St Austell Brewery has the resources and know-how to grow it further to release the full potential of the pubs in the years to come.”
Bosses at St Austell Brewery said that the purchase of The Bath Pub Company will strengthen its presence in the Bath area, where it already owns four tenanted pubs. In 2017, St Austell Brewery acquired Bath Ales in a deal that included a Warmley brewery and local distribution network.
Earlier this year, St Austell Brewery announced a joint venture with the directors of ETM Group to launch a series of premium sports bars in the West County - Ludo Sports Bar & Kitchen. The first Ludo site opened in Bath this summer.
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