Guernsey pubs belonging to the hospitality division of Sandpiper CI which the company is due to sell, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. Top left to right: Victoria Arms, English and Guernsey Arms, The Wayside Cheer Tavern, Albion House Tavern, The Thomas de la Rue, Dix Neuf and Barbados. Centre left to right: The White Hart, The Harbour Lights, White d’Or, Baloo’s, The Britannia and THe Foresters Arms. Bottom left to right: Oliver’s, La Couture Inn, Dorset Arms, Happy Landings, The Houmet Tavern, The Deerhound Country Inn and The Longfrie. (Montage by John O’Neill, 0505872)
THE sale of Sandpiper CI’s chain of 65 Channel Islands pubs is imminent, according to a report. Private equity firm LGV Capital, part of the Legal & General Group, is on the verge of buying the portfolio in a deal worth £70m. according to the Daily Telegraph.
Sandpiper chief executive Tony O’Neill confirmed that talks had taken place, but he would not say who with. ‘Discussions are ongoing. They have been protracted and we are hopeful that they will be successful in the next couple of weeks,’ he said.
Sandpiper acquired 21 pubs in Guernsey, 42 in Jersey and two in Alderney in the summer’s £260m. acquisition of CI Traders. Guernsey pubs include The Thomas de la Rue, Blind O’Reilly’s, The White Hart and The Longfrie. Private equity group Duke Street Capital owns Sandpiper.
The pubs currently have about 40% of the market share and were put on the market at the end of last year.
LGV Capital is a long-established provider of private equity in the UK.
It arranges management buy-outs and buy-ins which typically have a minimum transaction size of £50m.
Its portfolio includes dental surgeries, a household product manufacturer, restaurants, cinemas, pubs and caravan parks.
In February it sold the Classic Hospitals Group, the UK’s sixth-largest private acute hospital operator, to Spire Healthcare, formerly Bupa Hospitals, for £145m.
In December, it sold the South Lakeland Group, a holiday park operator, to White Ocean Leisure for £125m.
- CI Traders was the brainchild of entrepreneur Tom Scott.
- In 2002 he was a key figure in the merger of Ann Street Brewery and the Le Riche food-store group, which has the Marks & Spencer franchise in Jersey.
- The group was renamed CI Traders and Mr Scott netted £41m. from the sale of his stake when the company was sold to Duke Street.
Article posted on 20th May, 2008 - 11.30am
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