Comments (0)

By Matt Furnell, 14/06/2010 3:58 pm

BEST SEATS FOR WORLD CUP AVAILABLE
SOCCER CITY COMES TO FULHAM

There’s no jostling to see our good old England team in action at the Hurlingham pub in Fulham thanks to indoor terrace seating for a pitch side view of the big screen.

Indoor terrace seating at The Hurlingham Pub in Fulham

Pub Landlord, Ben Hurley has neatly grassed the interior of the pub and added luxury terraced seating so his customers don’t miss any of the action.  He says, “It’s along way for many of us to South Africa so to get as much of the atmosphere as possible here, I created our very own mini version of the Soccer City in Fulham”.

All the matches are being shown throughout the tournament at the pub with plenty of excitement and demand around the England matches.

Regional Manager for Greene King Pub Partners, David Carless said, “This is the event of the sporting calendar and we need pubs to really get behind it and bring some of the atmosphere of South Africa here.  The Hurlingham has done just that – a great way to support our team over there”.

Ends

Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844

Comments (0)

By Matt Furnell, 11/06/2010 7:59 am

Greene King today announces an agreement to acquire four pub restaurants from Punch Taverns PLC for a total consideration of £5.3m. The consideration will be financed from the funds raised by the Company’s rights issue and is expected to complete on 8 July 2010.

These pub restaurants are highly attractive, food-led, destination sites in Aberdeen, Northampton and Nottingham and meet the strict strategic and financial criteria set out at the time of the rights issue. In the year to August 2009, these sites generated EBITDA of £342,000. We expect, following targeted capital investment and operational synergies from integration into Greene King, that these sites will return to more normalised, historic trading levels, equating to c. 7x EBITDA. Following this acquisition, from both targeted packages and single sites, we will have invested £100m of the rights issue proceeds in acquiring and improving 34 high quality, freehold, retail sites and repurchasing below par debt.

Rooney Anand, Chief Executive of Greene King, commented: “We are very pleased to have acquired these sites. They are freehold retail sites in great locations currently trading below their potential. We expect to convert the sites into our market-leading pub restaurant brands, Hungry Horse and Eating Inn, further strengthening our position in the UK eating out market”.  
For further information:
Greene King plc Rooney Anand, Chief Executive
Ian Bull, Group Finance Director Tel: 01284 763222
  
Financial Dynamics Ben Foster
 Tel: 0207 831 3113

Comments (0)

By Matt Furnell, 10/06/2010 4:03 pm

Justin Adams, managing director of Greene King brewing company, has gone back to the floor at the Buxhall Crown pub near Stowmarket to help with the pub’s first ever beer festival.

The pub’s landlord, Barry Davis, secured Justin’s help after ‘winning’ it at a charity auction. The brewing boss was one of over 50 executives from Greene King whose time was auctioned off to licensees in order to raise money for the company’s nominated charities: Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation. The total amount raised by Greene King from the auction and from a Paris to London bike ride now stands at over £65,000.

Justin’s shift consisted of working non-stop in and around the pub to help with the beer festival. He was kept busy helping to pull pints for a host of queuing customers as well as keeping an eye on the cellar and taking his turn at cooking on the barbecue.

Speaking after the event, licensee Barry Davis said: “Hats off to Justin for being such a great sport. It’s his team at Greene King who brew, market, sell and distribute the beer, so it seemed appropriate to get him doing the other most important job in the beer industry: pulling and serving the pints.

“We had number of different beers on tap for the day, from Ruddles County and St Edmunds to The Reverend James and Bomber County. The beer festival gave people a chance to sample real ale and learn all about it from the ultimate expert. Alongside the cracking barbecue for customers, we raised some much needed funds for Sport Relief.”

Justin Adams added: “The Buxhall Crown is a great example of a pub serving its community - fantastic food, excellent beer and a tremendous atmosphere. The beer festival was a good way to raise the profile of the pub and attract new customers. I’m sure that those people who came for the first time will become regulars.   

“It’s been a while since I’ve worked behind the bar – it was a good reminder of how much hard work it is and how important it is to train people properly in selling and serving real ale. Congratulations to Barry and his team for running such a great pub and raising some much needed money for two great causes.”

Ends

For further information please contact James Cameron jamesc@consolidatedpr.com or Lottie Dutton lottied@consolidatedpr.com on 020 7781 2300