St Austell Brewery has expanded its estate outside of Cornwall with the acquisition of five pubs from Enterprise Inns.
The company has purchased the Albion in Bristol, the Blue Ball Inn in Exeter, the George Hotel in Plympton, the Rose & Crown in Yealmpton near Plymouth and the Cornish Arms in Tavistock.
The additions bring St Austell Brewery’s portfolio to 173 pubs across the south west.
The deal follows a successful year for the family brewery. Despite the pub industry as a whole witnessing a market decrease of 6% in beer sales in the first quarter of 2012, volumes at St Austell Brewery have continued to rise.
Adam Luck, estate director at St Austell Brewery, said: “The acquisition of five new pubs is an exciting addition to our portfolio. The purchases form part of the brewery’s on-going investment programme to develop our pub estate and our presence across the south west.
“Bristol is a particularly exciting area for us. The Albion will be our first pub in the city and it’s an area that presents a great opportunity to develop both our beer sales in the pub estate and the free trade business following the appointment of an area sales manager in Bristol, earlier in the year.”
The sale of these former Enterprise Inns to St Austell Brewery was completed off market for an undisclosed price.
