Addleshaws, Hogan Lovells, Links lead as Lloyds sells pub group to PE house
Addleshaw Goddard, Hogan Lovells and Linklaters all had roles on US private equity house Cerberus Capital Management’s £200m acquisition of pub group Admiral Taverns from Lloyds Banking Group.
Lloyds took control of Admiral - which has some 1,100 pubs in its portfolio - in 2009, as part of a restructuring that involved a debt-for-equity swap. But the banks has now divested its interest to Cerberus in a deal with a reported enterprise value of £200m. Cerberus will keep Admiral Taverns’ existing senior management team.
Addleshaws advised Admiral Taverns’ shareholders and management, with corporate partners Philip Goodstone and Yunus Seedat leading on the deal.
Linklaters advised Cerberus. Corporate partner Matthew Elliott led on the deal, aided by fellow corporate partner Alex Woodward.
Hogan Lovells advised Lloyds, with corporate partner Richard Ufland taking the lead.
Background to this deal:
Addleshaws has been linked with Admiral Taverns for nearly a decade, advising the company at various stages of its life. Though Goodstone led on the latest transaction, corporate real estate partner Andrew Shufflebotham, head of retail and consumer markets, is the relationship partner for Admiral.
Similarly, Linklaters has advised Cerberus for at least a few years. In 2010 the firm’s Frankfurt office advised the private equity house in its capacity as Woolworth’s main lessor in Germany on a long-term lease agreement plan with a strategic investor. In the past, Cerberus has also instructed Ashurst.
