This Is Guernsey

By Simon Tostevin

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The management team behind the buyout

ANDPIPER’S hospitality estate has been bought by The Liberation Group.  The deal, which has been on the cards for the past month, was confirmed yesterday afternoon.

It means the group, which was founded to buy the portfolio, was the unnamed company which revealed at the start of June that it would look to buy more pubs in Guernsey if the deal went through successfully.

For now the company will have to settle for 21 in Guernsey, 42 in Jersey and two in Alderney, as well as Bucktrout & Co Ltd, the Jersey Brewery and Victor Hugo Ltd.

Group chief executive officer Mark Crowther would not reveal how much the takeover had cost although there has been speculation it could be as much as £60m.

He reassured staff jobs were safe. ‘We’re going into this with the long-term intention of creating jobs, not cutting them. We certainly don’t have any plans for redundancies right now.’

It was announced in November that Sandpiper was selling the portfolio.

The management team behind the group have invested their own money and have the financial backing of Legal and General Ventures, a well-established provider of private equity in the UK market and part of the Legal and General Group.

LGV has a 20-year history of successfully backing management teams in the consumer, leisure, service and healthcare sectors.

‘The creation of The Liberation Group will enable this part of the hospitality sector to move forward as a unified group under the leadership of an experienced team of directors who have a proven industry track record

both in and outside the islands.

‘We have come into this to invest, with the primary aim of growing the business in the mid- to long-term.

‘We expect some of the managed pubs to move to tenancies, with some of our existing tenancies moving to longer agreements. Our objective is to build stability, confidence and growth.

‘As a management team we are excited by the possibilities that lie ahead and our staff can look forward to being part of a reinvigorated and focused group of companies, actively pursuing a policy of growth across the islands.’

The buyout has regrouped the drinks and hospitality elements into a single organisation.

‘We are pleased to be putting them back together so that they are “joined at the hip”, because that is how they should be.’

Mr Crowther said much of the deal was thrashed out at around the time of Liberation Day.

‘It became difficult to even discuss the deal without mentioning Liberation Day, so it seemed natural to name the group after the Channel Islands’ most important celebration.’

The management team behind the buyout is:

CEO Mark Crowther; Finance director Declan Hearne; Operations director of pubs David Robilliard; Managing director of Bucktrout & Co David Robilliard; Managing director of Victor Hugo Martin Flageul; Non-executive director Ed Daubeney.

They are supported by Graham Turner, who has been appointed non-executive chairman of the Liberation Group. Mr Turner is also CEO of the Tragus Group, which owns Bella Italia in Guernsey and Cafe Rouge in Jersey.

Article posted on 8th July, 2008 - 2.29pm