The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has raised concern at the second sale of Punch Pubs & Co in four years.
The company, which runs 1,300 pubs in the UK, has been acquired by US-based Fortress Investment Group, itself owned by SoftBank, of Japan. The sale price was not disclosed.
“CAMRA is very wary about an investment company taking over a business running so many pubs up and down the country,” said the consumer group’s chair, Nik Antona.
“While Punch was already owned by a global business, we continue to be concerned of the dominance of global companies and brewers in the UK beer and pub market.
“One company controlling a large share of the market rarely brings benefits for licensees or consumers, but nevertheless we hope that the new owners will commit to retaining the pub portfolio.”
He added: “Publicans and local communities will want rapid assurances from this new owner that they are committed to the future of these pubs, rather than asset stripping, and that these venues will be given a fair chance to thrive under new ownership.
“As we continue to recover from the pandemic, it is more important than ever that we protect the mental health and wellbeing benefits that local pubs provide to their customers and communities.”
