Slaughters plays pivotal role as Greene King toasts £30m swoop

The deal, which is due to complete on 1 July, includes high-end pubs in Central London, such as The Bunch of Grapes in Knightsbridge.

The portfolio comprises seven pubs in Central ­London and the South East and four in Scotland. It will be used to reduce debt and reinvest, according to Punch.

Slaughters corporate partner Kathryn Davis led the team advising Punch. She said: “Punch is selling packages of pubs and there are a few nice little disposals.”

The team included corporate associate Alex Brennan, real estate partner David Waterfield and associate Shilpa Joshi, associate Veena Sivapalan in pensions and employment and associate Sara Stewart in tax.

Previous instructions for Punch included advice to the group on its sale of six ­managed pubs to Fuller Smith & Turner for £21m and the post-acquisition reorganisations of Spirit Group and Mill House Inn.

Greene King, which was the first pub chain to carry out a rights issue last month (The Lawyer, 4 May), will use part of the £207m it raised in that cash call to buy the 11 pubs.

It was advised by Adrian Seagers, a corporate ­partner at Ipswich-based Birketts. Seagers was unavailable for comment.