Better Capital to sell Walkabout bar chain for £39.5m

Private equity firm Better Capital is to sell its stake in the Walkabout bar chain to Stonegate Pub Company for £39.5m.

Its fund, Becap12, has exchanged contracts to sell its stake in Intertain, which owns the Walkabout Australian brand, to Stonegate with the deal expected to complete later this week.

The fund invested in Intertain in November 2014 to restructure and return it to a profitable and cash generative business.

The sale is expected to gain net proceeds of £33.7m, with the remaining proceeds to be slightly below the £38m value from November.

Better Capital said that it intends to distribute £34m from the fund to the fund’s shareholders at 9.8% per share at the issued share capital, or 10.7p, subject to approval.

Shares in Better Capital were up 5.43% to 34p at 0807 GMT.