Burges Salmon has advised Zetland Capital on the acquisition of a portfolio comprising of 12 high quality pubs, located across London.
The pubs have been acquired from various entities, backed by funds managed by investment manager Downing LLP. Portobello Brewery, the pub operating company led by industry heavyweight Mark Crowther, has been managing the sites for the past year.
Zetland is a London-based private equity firm that was founded in 2016 by Ahmed Hamdani and invests in mid-market special situations across Europe. Zetland has provided funding for the acquisition and will provide further financial support, as the business looks to grow through acquisitions across London and the south of England.
The sites include the flagship Westow House in Crystal Palace, which has recently added 22 en-suite bedrooms, along with other locations including Forest Gate, Peckham, New Cross, Sutton and Brixton.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the deal was led by partner in the Corporate team, Rupert Weston and also included Peter Dunn and Ellie Shanahan (Corporate) and Rick Read and Will Hall (Real Estate).
Rupert Weston comments: “We thoroughly enjoyed working with Zetland and are pleased to have helped them secure this portfolio. We look forward to working with Zetland and the management team to achieve their growth objectives.”
Ahmed Hamdani, Managing Partner at Zetland, says: “We are excited to have made this acquisition of a high quality and well-located portfolio of pubs. We are partnering with a highly experienced team, led by Mark, and will back them, with substantial investment, to grow Portobello into one of the leading pub businesses in Southern England.”