Retail-focused real estate investment trust NewRiver REIT acquired U.K. pubs landlord Hawthorn Leisure Holdings Ltd. from an affiliate of Avenue Capital Group LLC for an enterprise value of £106.8 million, a few days after confirming it had entered into an exclusivity period for the deal.
According to a previous report, Hawthorn was placed on the market through Sapient Corporate Finance for more than £115 million. NewRiver beat competition from private equity firm Patron Capital Ltd. and pub operator Admiral Taverns Ltd. to acquire the company.
The London-based REIT has expanded its portfolio to 629 pubs with the addition of Hawthorn Leisure's 298 prime community pubs in the U.K., according to a release.
NewRiver noted that the combined estate will invest in scale-based synergies, as well as improvements in acquisitions and logistics, resulting in estimated synergies of at least £3 million per year.
The acquisition is expected to raise NewRiver's funds from operations in the year to March 2019 by £7.7 million.
