United Kingdom: Greene King did not comment acquisition rumours

Greene King has issued a terse “no comment” in response to widespread industry rumours that it is poised to announce another major acquisition, The Publican posted on May 4.

In the wake of Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries’ (W&DB) £45m formal offer for Cumbrian brewer Jennings Brothers, attention has turned to Greene King’s next move in the latest wave of consolidation to sweep the pub sector.

Reports that the Suffolk-based company has been courting Belhaven have resurfaced in the Scottish press recently, although Belhaven chief executive Stuart Ross has insisted he has not been involved in any talks.

Greene King is also understood to have been weighing up the takeover potential of several regional brewers in the south east of England as it assesses a possible acquisition.

Rooney Anand, the former head of Greene King’s brewing arm who has just moved into the chief executive role, was unavailable for comment. A company spokesman said it was policy never to speak about market rumours.

Greene King expanded its estate by 25 per cent to more that 2,100 pubs with last summer’s acquisition of the Laurel community pub operation.

The addition of the 128 Jennings pubs would take W&DB’s estate to around 2,250.

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