Peach Pub Company bought by Revolution for £16.5m
Revolution, which currently operates 69 bars under its Revolution, Revolucion de Cuba brands, Founders & Co and Playhouse brands, has acquired the 21-strong premium pub company with a view to diversifying its growth strategy.
The deal has been made on a debt and cash free basis, of which £0.5m is contingent upon the future performance of the business.
It says the combination of the two companies will create a more balanced and diversified business, with scale and compelling growth potential across multiple trading segments of drinks, food and accommodation.
It adds that Peach’s greater exposure to daytime and early week trading provides ‘a natural balance’ to Revolution, which performs strongly in the evenings and weekends, while the location of Peach’s pubs outside city centres and large towns balances its estate in terms of location.
“This is an exciting and transformative opportunity for Revolution. It broadens our guest base, balances our day part sales and seasonality whilst providing another avenue for growth both organically and by acquisition,” says Rob Pitcher, CEO at Revolution Bars Group.
“Peach is a quality business with great pubs offering a premium experience. It has rebounded strongly from the dark days of the pandemic. Central to this success has been a strong people focused culture with clear values that are focused on making the right choices for guests and our teams, a very similar approach to that taken at Revolution.”
Further growth opportunities
Revolution says that operating premium pubs will present it with further growth opportunities in the leasehold food-led pub market. The entire operations team of Peach, led by Chris Stagg, will remain with the pub company following the acquisition.
Peach’s pubs are located in the south of England and the Midlands and achieve average weekly takings (net of VAT) of around £30,000, with food making up 53% of sales. This year it reported a like-for-like sales growth of more than 10% compared to 2019.
“Twenty years ago, we opened the Rose & Crown in Warwick, believing that every market town deserves a great Gastropub, serving a fine steak and a delicious glass of wine offered with true hospitality. We have grown from one pub to 21 profitably for two decades, says Hamish Stoddart, co-founder and managing director at Peach Pubs.
“Today, we have announced the sale of Peach Pubs to the Revolution Bars for a consideration of £16.5 m – this comes from an initial £140k investment and the returns include a large share to our executive and loyal key team, who have shared the unforgettable ride.
“With the news of the Peach acquisition by Revolution Bars, Lee Cash, Jo Eames and I will be around a table sharing good food with a fine bottle of wine and looking back on two decades of good times, tough times and a business and friendships of which we are unbelievably proud.”
Announcing its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022, Revolution says it turned around a £26.3m loss in 2021 to post a £2.1m profit before tax.
The group achieved total sales for the period of £140.8m, up from £39.4m in 2021, with a lie-for-like sales growth of 1.3% delivered in its 56 English bars, after Covid restrictions were fully lifted on 19 July last year. Adjusted EBITDA was £19.4m, compared a loss of £3.9m the previous year.
Recent sales have, however, been impacted by falling consumer confidence it says, with total like-for-likes down 10%.
