Greene King, the brewer and pub operator, is rumoured to have asked PricewaterhouseCoopers to find a buyer for up to 300 tenanted pubs, according to The Times.
The move is designed to tap into renewed investor interest, the newspaper reports.
Greene King’s plan, stated three years ago, is to increase its managed estate from 888 to 1,100 and cut its tenanted arm from 1,600 over three years. The Times points out that the company currently has 975 managed and 1,300 tenanted outlets.
Two weeks ago M&C Report revealed that rival Marston’s has created a new operating division to handle the disposal of c400 pubs that have been identified for sale.
The operating division is headed by Philip Barnett, who was operations director at Marston’s Beer and Pub Company until the end of last year. His new job title is operations director - disposals.
Like Greene King, Marston’s aims to increase the size of its managed estate and wants to add between 20 and 25 newbuilds each year for the foreseeable future.
