Spirit Pub Company


Spirit Pub Company plc was a pub and restaurant company in the United Kingdom, based in Burton upon Trent and originally formed by Punch Taverns. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, until it was acquired by Greene King in June 2015.

History

Spirit Group was originally formed by Punch Taverns in February 1999, to operate its managed pub estate including pubs acquired from Allied Domecq. Spirit Group was demerged by Punch in February 2002. Spirit Group then acquired Scottish & Newcastle’s retail business, before itself being re acquired by Punch in May 2006. Spirit was demerged from Punch Taverns for a second time in August 2011.
In January 2015, the shareholders accepted a takeover offer from Greene King. The takeover was completed in June 2015.

Operations

In August 2013, Spirit had seven hundred and seventy seven branded, managed pubs throughout the United Kingdom, and a further 452 leased pubs. Spirit employed an average of 16,800 people in 2013. Spirit admitted that most of its staff are engaged on zero hours contracts, with short notice of the hours to be worked.
At August 2013, its properties were valued at £1,375m. It had net debt of £891m, including £147m of interest rate swap obligations. It proposed a restructuring of its bond obligations.

Taylor Walker

There were 120 pubs of Taylor Walker, mostly in West and Central London, which competed with Nicholsons. The name is taken from the Taylor Walker brewery, founded in 1730 in Stepney. Following the takeover by Greene King, the Taylor Walker brand was retired, with pubs being brought under the brand Greene King.

Other brands

Spirit's other brands were Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square, Flaming Grill, John Barras, and Original Pub Company. In addition, Spirit Pub Company operated Wacky Warehouse, the largest soft play and activity centre brand in the United Kingdom, and Good Night Inns, a group of hotels next to their pub restaurants.