PBR Leisure (PBRL), the bar and restaurant operator, has placed 13 of its 17 Ultimate Leisure sites on the market with Gerald Eve, M&C Report has learnt.
The venues, located in north east England, are a mixture of freeholds and leaseholds and have guide prices ranging from £1.75m for the freehold or long leasehold of the Boathouse riverside bar in Durham to £375,000 for the freehold of Chase Bar in Sunderland.
PBRL, whose c30 sites are managed by Eclectic Bars & Clubs, said: “We can confirm that we are looking to sell some of our sites through Gerald Eve with a view to re-investing a proportion of the released capital back into the business.
“As recently announced, we successfully completed a refinancing deal in February, which saw debt reduced from £63.1m down to £20m. Sale proceeds will also be used to further reduce debt. This is in line with the board’s overall strategy of reducing debt and investing further in the company as a whole.
“The sites we are putting on the market have had a lack of investment in recent times so, as a result, are not performing as well as others in our portfolio.”
PBRL chairman David Myers said: “We have made good strides recently and the appointment of Eclectic to manage our venues is bearing fruit. Having reduced debt, it is now time to start pro-actively managing and investing in the business. Selling some of our sites will release the capital to do that, allowing us to continue to move forward from a robust trading platform.”
PBRL operates under the Living Room and Ultimate Leisure segments and the 13 sites are part of Ultimate Leisure. Speaking to M&C Report, Eclectic chief executive Reuben Harley distanced his company from being a potential buyer of the package, saying Ultimate Leisure is “not what we are actively seeking to purchase”.
It’s believed the size of Ultimate Leisure sites, which are generally bigger than Eclectic’s outlets, means they are seen as being not a natural fit for Eclectic for the long term.
Five of the sites up for sale are in Newcastle: Chase Bar, Quayside (£850,000, freehold); City Vaults, Bigg Market (£1m, freehold/part investment); Riverside Nightclub, The Close (£650,000, long leasehold at peppercorn rent); The Lodge, Mosley Street (offers invited for the freehold); and Waterside Hotel & Jimmyz Bar, Quayside (£750,000, freehold).
Other sites are Coyote Wild, Derby (guide price £800,000, freehold); Klute, Durham (offers invited, freehold); Cotton Factory, Huddersfield (£750,000, freehold); Halo/Quilted Lama, Leeds (£600,000, long lease); Prohibition, Leeds (£100,000 premium on lease with 12 months remaining); and Rex Hotel, Whitley Bay (offers invited for the freehold/long leasehold).
