Oaktree backs Anand’s pub vehicle

Rooney Anand’s pub investment vehicle Redcat Pub Company has been backed by US investment firm Oaktree, the Telegraph reports.

Last month the former Greene King CEO announced he had raised £200m to embark on a series of acquisitions in the sector, a figure that is expected to rise to £500m with a further £300m in debt funding to be raised.

Oaktree, a Los Angeles-based firm with a near-$150bn (£110bn) portfolio, has injected £200m into Redcat, which will be looking to buy individual businesses or operators, targeting pubs in the south east.

“There is no set playbook,” Anand told the Telegraph. “I am not trying to recreate Greene King. I see myself as someone who’s investing in a sector that has been oversold, where people have taken cover and written it off and have been too quick to say: ‘It’s not going to recover’.

“I’ve always been a strong believer in the great British pub. It has survived the Blitz, the Great Plague and the credit crunch - always bouncing back and taking its rightful place at the heart of the community. There will always be a market for a decent pub.”