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

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