Pub company Amber Taverns has retained Shepherd Chartered Surveyors to find new sites throughout Scotland.
Aberdeen is among the cities and towns the community pub-focused landlord is particularly interested in.
Other locations being targeted include Airdrie, Ayr, Dunfermline, Dundee, Edinburgh and suburbs, Falkirk, Glasgow, Greenock, Hamilton, Irvine, Motherwell, Perth, Rutherglen and Stirling.
Freehold pubs 1,884sq ft and up
Gary Louttit, head of hospitality and leisure, Shepherd, said: “We’re looking for freehold-only pubs on high street locations with a minimum ground floor area of 175sq m (1,884sq ft).
“We’re seeking pubs, either open or closed, as well as retail or restaurant outlets that are suitable for conversion.
“We’re also interested in other suitable non-licensed buildings, premises with space for a flat upstairs in non-city centre locations, and outlets with an outside area or space to create a beer garden.”
Shepherd is urging anyone with potential sites and opportunities to get in touch.
Amber Taverns currently has more than 160 pubs throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
The Blackpool-based group is owned by London private equity firm MxP Partners.
Sam Frankland, property director, Amber Taverns, said: “We pride ourselves in providing a high quality of hospitality and service in our venues, while giving great value for money in a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere.
“We are unique in that we offer an operator agreement to all our licensees and through the operator agreement our licensees are incentivised to develop the business.”
‘Very quiet’ market
In accounts filed at Companies House earlier this month, Amber Taverns finance director Joanne Jones said the property market for freehold sites had been “very quiet”.
She also said many pubs had “bounced back to 2o19 sales levels well”, particularly those with large outdoor drinking spaces, since Covid rules were relaxed earlier this year.
Business in some of these locations has been bosted by staycations, she added.
A rent moratorium extension to March 2022 has led to a smaller number of sites coming to market than was initially anticipated, Ms Jones said, adding: “In the short term this does not have a negative impact as the business focuses on rebuilding the core estate back to pre-Covid levels.”
But “the competition” is also eyeing new sites, adding to the challenge of growing Amber Taverns’ estate at a time when the construction sector is stretched and the hospitality industry has never been so “hugely impacted” by regulation, Ms Jones said.
She added: “The directors believe the all-freehold nature of the estate, allied to our suburban locations and proven operating model, means the business is well-positioned to face the coming months, even if further restrictions are imposed.
“There is considerable investor interest in the wet-led/community sector – as demonstrated by the recent acquisition of Hawthorn by Admiral – and while this may create some additional competition in due course, it also underpins the value of the Amber business.
Ready to swoop
“We are actively looking at the property markets for new prospects, so we are ready to proceed when the appropriate sites are available.”
A portfolio valuation in September 2020 suggested Amber Tavern’s current estate was worth about £146.5 million.
The group turned over just under £30m in its 2020-21 trading year, down from around £86.3m 12 months earlier.
Pre-tax losses narrowed to £7.9m in the latest period, compared with a trading deficit of £13m previously.
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