Welsh brewer Brains sells 95 pubs to Song Capital

Welsh brewer SA Brain has sold 95 of its pubs to investment firm Song Capital and partners.

The terms of the deal, which saw contracts exchanged on 20 May, were not disclosed.

Song Capital was founded by real estate executives Daniel Mackinnon and Tom Pritchard. Mackinnon previously worked with Alan McIntosh, the founder of Punch Taverns.

Brains said the proceeds of the deal would be used to pay down its bank debt and provide a foundation for its brewing arm.

Brains originally put the freehold and leasehold investment of 99 of its pubs on the market in 2021 for offers in excess of £87.3m.

Jon Bridge, chief executive of SA Brain, said: "The executive team at Brains and the Song Capital team have worked diligently together for a period of time to ensure a jointly successful outcome. I would like to thank everyone involved for their dedication and hard work.

"The proceeds of this deal will go towards paying down our remaining bank debt and significantly deleveraging the Brains business. This provides a foundation for our modern state of the art facility, Dragon Brewery, to brew our famous beers in the heart of Cardiff and continue to supply Brains beers to our loyal and new customers for generations to come."

In December 2020 Brains, which was founded in 1882, exchanged contracts with Marston's to run more than 140 of its pubs in Wales after coronavirus restrictions placed Brains under significant financial pressure.