Former type Public Industry Pubs Founded August 2011 Net income 99.4 million GBP (2014) | Traded as LSE: PUB Revenue 800.9 million GBP (2014) Defunct June 2016 | |
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Key people Mike Tye
(Chief Executive Officer)
Walker Boyd
(Non-Executive Chairman) Headquarters Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom | ||
Who is spirit pub company
Spirit Pub Company plc (Spirit) was a pub and restaurant company in the United Kingdom, based in Burton upon Trent and originally formed by Punch Taverns. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Greene King in June 2015.
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History
Spirit Group was originally formed by Punch Taverns in 1999 to operate its managed pub estate including pubs acquired from Allied Domecq. Spirit Group was demerged by Punch in 2002. Spirit Group then acquired Scottish & Newcastle’s retail business before itself being re-acquired by Punch in 2006. Spirit was demerged from Punch Taverns for a second time in August 2011.
In January 2015 the shareholders accepted a takeover offer from Greene King. The takeover was completed in June 2015.
Operations
In August 2013 Spirit had 777 branded, managed pubs throughout the UK and a further 452 leased pubs. Spirit employed an average of 16,800 people in 2013.
Spirit admitted that most of its staff are engaged on zero-hours contracts with short notice of the hours to be worked.
At August 2013, its properties were valued at £1,375m. It had net debt of £891m, including £147m of interest rate swap obligations. It proposed a restructuring of its bond obligations.
Taylor Walker
There are 120 Taylor Walker pubs, mostly in West and Central London which compete with Nicholsons. The name is taken from the Taylor Walker brewery founded in 1730 in Stepney.
Other brands
Spirit's other brands are Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square, Flaming Grill, John Barras, and Original Pub Company. In addition, Spirit Pub Company operates Wacky Warehouse, the UK’s largest soft play and activity centre brand, and Good Night Inns, a group of hotels next to their pub restaurants.