Pubs sale pulls in the industry’s big players

By Tom Edwards

SANDPIPER’S pubs have attracted considerable interest from potential buyers both on and off the island. The private equity firm, which bought out CI Traders in August, put the 65-strong Channel Island pub estate up for sale in November.

Chief executive Tony O’Neill revealed on Wednesday that the board had received significant interest as word had got out.

‘We are selling all of the pubs as a single entity, so all of the potential buyers are major players,’ he said. ‘Some of them are from the UK and some are from the Channel Islands.’

Sandpiper’s Guernsey pub portfolio features 21 well-known watering holes including Blind O’Reilly’s, the Thomas de la Rue, the White Hart and the Wayside.

Mr O’Neill admitted that the process had been delayed slightly by intervention from the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority.

‘Although we are working towards bringing increased diversity to the islands, the JCRA wanted clarification of our future intentions,’ he said.

‘We spent December in meetings about this and I would not anticipate any new developments until the summer.’

Sandpiper has attracted much scrutiny. Its announcement to sell its hospitality elements and focus on its core retail business elicited concerns that it was purely asset stripping.

Mr O’Neill said he was looking for support from the States of Guernsey and had entered into positive discussions with Housing about obtaining licences.

‘As a retailer I feel we have a responsibility not just to take, but also to put something into the community,’ he said.

‘I have no doubt that there is plenty of work to be done in Guernsey - we have some charity initiatives in the pipeline, for instance.’

The environment and supporting local producers were also high on Sandpiper’s agenda, added Mr O’Neill.

‘We would be willing to lend our support to getting rid of plastic bags if we were confident our customers were behind us and our competitors would join us. But there needs to be a common approach for everyone.

‘We are already trying our best to source as many products as possible from within the island. If you take the produce display at the Admiral Park Checkers, for example, we see ourselves as a showcase for local goods.

‘We are working with egg suppliers to increase their flock size and reduce the need for external suppliers, so I would be interested in hearing from local suppliers.’?