Amber Taverns reports Ebitda hits £7,609,000: Amber Taverns, the community pub operator, ha reported that Ebitda hit £7,609,000 in the year ended 2 February 2014 compared to £6,757,000 the year before. Turnover rose 11% to £36,870,000 compared to £33,189,000 in the year before. The company had 93 pubs at the year-end compared to 82 the year before – and is due to open it 100th pub next month. Pre-tax profit rose to £4,544,551 compared to £3,874,367 the year before. Operating profit before exceptional items was £5,578,783 (2013: £5,416,857), an increase of 3%. The company stated: “Following the decision in January 2012 to adopt a revaluation policy, a review of 14 additional sites was undertaken and this has generate an increase in the reserve to £17.7m (2013: £14.9m). The company will continue to adopt this policy of revaluation of its freehold property going forward. Following an impairment review it was agreed that an impairment charge of £100,000 was required at the year-end.” The net book value of its assets is currently £61.39m, made of £45.5m of freehold property and £6.9m of fixtures and fittings. In May this year, Amber Taverns was sold by Legal and General Capital for £80m to MXP Partners. The new owner, a founding shareholder of the business, backed the existing management team, led by Clive Preston, James Baer and Bryan Wardman. BlueBay Asset Management’s Direct Lending Fund also provided finance for the transaction. Under the new deal, Amber is looking to continue to grow the size of its estate across northern England, the Midlands and Wales over the forthcoming years. The company typically acquires distressed and failing freehold pubs and revitalises them through a combination of significant investment and a consistent value for money offer, transforming previously unloved sites into viable and sustainable businesses at the very heart of their local community.