City Pub buys pubs in London and Oxford

Landlord City Pub Group has acquired two new watering holes - one in London's Soho area and the other in the centre of Oxford.

City Pub has acquired "a premium freehold investment" for £3.87m in cash, currently operated as Simmons Bateman Street, in the heart of Soho, generating approximately £260,000 in rent per year. The next rent review will be in October 2027, with rent being subject to an RPI increase subject to a cap and collar. The lease has 16 years remaining.

Elsewhere, the Plough, a leasehold pub located on the Cornmarket in the centre of Oxford, one of the city's oldest pubs, was snapped up for around £330,000 in cash. The annual net turnover of the pub in 2022 was approximately £1.45m, with estimated pub underlying earnings of £35,000.

Executive chairman Clive Watson said: "We are delighted to secure the acquisition of these two pubs both of which are in locations where we have existing pubs nearby. Soho is a fantastic trading locale with high footfall from tourists, theatre goers and residents alike and we're confident the acquisition will be a good long-term investment. The Plough is in the heart of Oxford, traded extremely well last year and we have exciting plans to reposition it to further maximise its potential.

"As stated in our recent results statement, we are looking at similar acquisitions to complement our premium pub portfolio as well as continued focus on organic sales growth."

As of 1215 BST, City Pub shares were up 1.69% at 90.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com