Admiral Taverns puts expansion on hold

Admiral Taverns, the UK’s third-largest tenanted pub operator, has announced it is putting its expansion on hold while the economy remains unstable.

Not only is the ongoing credit squeeze having an impact on pub operators but they have also been affected by the smoking ban which came into effect last July.

Admiral’s chief executive, Gary Landesberg, said the world is in a bit of a crisis. It will be at least a year before we see calm.

Admiral, which has purchased 3,000 sites since 2004, said the climate was not right to buy more.

The news follows claims that Robert Tchenguiz, property entrepreneur , is about to put his Laurel Pub Company into administration after failing to find buyers. Laurel’s 460 sites include a mixture of Yates’s, Hog Head, Litten Tree, Bar Med, Slug and Lettuce and La Tasca.

Mr Tchenguiz will look to buy back the business without its loss making sites. A spokesperson for Laurel said that negotiations were continuing on a refinancing deal but didn’t comment further.

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