Red Oak Taverns snap up 18 pubs from Wadworth & Company

Red Oak Taverns has acquired a portfolio of 18 pubs from Wiltshire-based brewer and pub operator Wadworth & Company.

The nationwide group of 179 pubs has tapped into a £10m acquisition facility arranged with OakNorth bank last year as part of a wider £42m refinancing of the business to buy the pubs.

While Wadworth is a fifth-generation family business with 198 pubs dating back to 1875, Red Oak Tavern is relatively new, having been founded in 2011 by Aaron Brown and Mark Grunnell.

Brown and Grunnell said: "We are delighted to have secured this quality portfolio of pubs from Wadworth. We believe the pubs and the licensees will benefit from Red Oak's flexible approach to operated leased and tenanted pubs and from the £1m investment we have planned for the acquired portfolio."

Mohith Sondhi, senior debt finance director at OakNorth, added: "The pub sector is competitive and fragmented, so businesses in this industry require an experienced team who can deliver alternative strategies for weaker units and maximise the potential of better ones.

"Mark and Aaron have proven they can do this – they have built a strong platform and have a clear strategy to sustainably grow the business in coming years."