Admiral invests £5m in upgrading pubs that ‘undersell’

The initiative, part of a summer capital investment programme, is expected to improve the exterior facades and outside spaces of pubs around the country that currently “undersell” themselves.

“This is a great opportunity for our licensees and business development managers to optimise the performance of their pubs,” said Kevin Georgel, Managing Director.

“Enhancing the external appearance of our pub buildings will be a critical focus for us, as we have identified a number of fantastic pubs – with great standards and atmosphere – that perhaps undersell themselves to potential customers from the outside, so we plan to address this and return such pubs to pristine condition.”

Restructuring​

The move comes several months after Admiral announced it had wiped off £47.2m of its debt as it trimmed its estate by 11 per cent.

The tenanted pub operator underwent a financial restructuring that saw Lloyds Bank write off around £600m of debt in return for a large stake in the business around 18 months ago.

Regional investment​

The new investment programme will see £1m allocated to each of Admiral’s four regional divisions, with a further £1m to be allocated and invested where appropriate, by the senior operations team.

Investment proposals under the programme have already been approved for around 100 schemes, some of which have already kicked off.

Most of the work is expected to start in the coming weeks and months, although some pubs have already re-opened post development.

As well as upgrading the pub buildings and spaces, Admiral also hopes the initiative will “pave the way” for further improvements, such as upgrades to food and cask ale options.
“It’s an exciting development for Admiral – the first such programme for some time – and will deliver other benefits normally associated with effective capital investment programmes, such as driving pub performance and increasing licensee tenure,” said Georgel.