Venture capital firm Alchemy is considering launching a £1.5bn bid for Whitbread's 3,000 pubs, according to the weekend press. Boss Jon Moulton is said to want to emulate the success of City rival Guy Hands of Nomura..
According to the Observer, Alchemy will face competition from Nomura, punch and a long list of other venture capitalists.
Whitbread's pub sell-off will see it concentrate on the faster-growing area of hotels, restaurants and fitness clubs, which will include a further 5,700 rooms for the Travel Inns hotels division, taking the number of hotels to 350. Meanwhile, David Lloyd Leisure and the Beefeater, Cafe Rouge and Pizza Hut restaurant operation are also in line for a turnaround, it is suggested.
Despite a 10% rise in the share price last week, The Financial Mail on Sunday says Whitbread has been an "appalling investment" over the last 15 months and suggests it might be some time before things improve. Columnist Richard Wachman, in Sunday Business, suggests selling the pub estate may be too little too late.
The Observer 22/10/2000
page
1 (Business)
The Sunday Times 22/10/2000
page 3.8 (Business)
The Mail on Sunday
22/10/2000
page 7 (Financial Mail on Sunday)
Sunday Business 22/10/2000
page 3,
page 41 (Business Life)
According to the Observer, Alchemy will face competition from Nomura, punch and a long list of other venture capitalists.
Whitbread's pub sell-off will see it concentrate on the faster-growing area of hotels, restaurants and fitness clubs, which will include a further 5,700 rooms for the Travel Inns hotels division, taking the number of hotels to 350. Meanwhile, David Lloyd Leisure and the Beefeater, Cafe Rouge and Pizza Hut restaurant operation are also in line for a turnaround, it is suggested.
Despite a 10% rise in the share price last week, The Financial Mail on Sunday says Whitbread has been an "appalling investment" over the last 15 months and suggests it might be some time before things improve. Columnist Richard Wachman, in Sunday Business, suggests selling the pub estate may be too little too late.
The Observer 22/10/2000
page
1 (Business)
The Sunday Times 22/10/2000
page 3.8 (Business)
The Mail on Sunday
22/10/2000
page 7 (Financial Mail on Sunday)
Sunday Business 22/10/2000
page 3,
page 41 (Business Life)
