Wed 8th Nov 2017 - Liberation Group buys eight SA Brain pubs in England Liberation Group buys eight SA Brain pubs in England: Liberation Group, the owner of Butcombe Brewery, has bought eight English pubs owned and operated by Cardiff-based brewer and retailer SA Brain to add to the Butcombe estate for an undisclosed sum. The pubs make up most of the pubs that SA Brain has owned and operated in England. The eight pubs are six managed sites – consisting of the Smoking Dog in Malmesbury, Bear in Cirencester, Bowl in Almondsbury (includes 11 bedrooms), Ostrich in Bristol, Jubilee in Flax Bourton and White Horse in Buckover – and two tenanted pubs – Langford in Lower Langford and Old Station in Hallatrow. Seven are freehold and one is leasehold. Butcombe has more than doubled its pub estate over the last year and Liberation Group chief executive Mark Crowther told Propel the company was keen to make further group acquisitions. He added Butcombe would be adding three more managed pubs to its portfolio, which were all individual acquisitions, which would take the total number of pubs to 46. Butcombe is also investing in the Butcombe Brewery, expanding its range of beers, and upgrading infrastructure with a new distribution depot and kegging & bottling line. SA Brain plans to focus its future licensed retail operations within Wales where it will continue to operate about 100 managed pubs and a leased and tenanted estate totalling more than 70 pubs. The company said it also also remained highly acquisitive outside of Wales through its Coffee#1 brand, which recently saw the addition of an 83rd site in Plymouth, Devon. An announcement regarding a move to a new brewery site in Cardiff is expected in the near future. Crowther said: “We are keen to explore further group acquisitions if other opportunities occur. The addition of these eight high-quality pubs to our portfolio further accelerates the growth of our rapidly expanding pub estate, strengthening our presence in our heartland around Bath and Bristol. These pubs are a perfect fit with our existing portfolio and will benefit from ownership by our fast growing, market leading regional brewery with its well-known brands. We welcome all those who work in those pubs and look forward to building a successful future together.” Scott Waddington, chief executive of SA Brain, added: “The sale of our English pubs is well timed given the outstanding prospects we have to further grow our brand and pubs business in Wales. The rich affection with which our brand is held has further solidified our conviction to pursue our pub agenda inside Wales. We will remain very proud of the period of ownership we have enjoyed with the pubs that are being acquired by Butcombe and believe the team, with its West Country heartland, is well placed to take these businesses forward.”