Hawthorn acquires 14 pubs from Everards

Pub company Hawthorn has announced the acquisition of 14 pubs from Everards of Leicestershire, the pub operator and family brewer.

The pubs are predominantly located in suburban and neighbourhood locations in the East Midlands.

Mark Davies, chief executive of Hawthorn, said: "We are really pleased to announce the purchase of 14 high-quality community pubs from Everards. All of the pubs, which are fully let, have been very well-operated by Everards and its business owners and we share a strong community ethos with Everards that makes this a seamless transaction for both parties.

"It's been great to get to know Stephen Gould and the Everards team through the transaction and to get a deal done during lockdown. The relationship we have built and partnership formed is something that will benefit both companies in the future. My team and I are looking forward to meeting the business owners and welcoming them to Hawthorn."

Stephen Gould, managing director of Everards, said: "Following a review of our pub estate, we presented 14 pubs as an acquisition opportunity to Mark and his team and are pleased to get a deal done during lockdown. The whole team at Hawthorn have been a delight to work with and I know that our business owners will be in good hands working with a company with similar values to our own. The deal positions Everards well for continued investment into our pub estate, acquisitions and Everards Meadows, our 90-acre leisure and tourism development in Leicestershire."

Hawthorn operates around 700 leased and tenanted, and operator-managed, community pubs across England, Scotland and Wales and was advised on the transaction by Colliers.

The group unveiled plans to list on the stock market as a standalone quoted business earlier this month.