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Oaktree backs Rooney Anand’s £500m swoop on Britain’s pubs
Former Greene King chief s new venture aims to capitalise on pent-up demand from drinkers when Covid restrictions are eased
Former Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand
One of the world’s biggest investment firms is backing former Greene King boss Rooney Anand’s £500m swoop on Britain s beleaguered pub sector.
Los Angeles-based Oaktree, famed for founder Howard Marks’ monthly investment memos with a near-$150bn (£110bn) portfolio, is providing the financial firepower behind RedCat Pub Company,
The Telegraph can reveal.
The pub sector ranks among the hardest hit by coronavirus with rolling lockdowns taking operators to the brink of collapse.
Former Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand has raised £200m to invest in Britain’s pub industry, betting on the prospects of a post-pandemic recovery for the sector.
Sky News reports that Anand – who left Greene King in 2018 having led the pubco for 14 years – is expected to embark on a series of acquisitions in the coming months with the backing of an unnamed US-based private equity firm.
Sources close to his vehicle, Redcat Pub Company, said Anand was unlikely to pursue large corporate takeovers in the near term, but would focus on smaller acquisitions with scope for improving operational performance.
Anand’s investment vehicle Redcat Pub Company will focus on smaller acquisitions rather than large corporate deals.
The UK pub sector has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic and coronavirus restrictions, having been forced to close several times and faced strict social distancing rules.
However industry experts believe that there could be a resurgence in the pub industry when Covid restrictions are lifted, with many hospitality firms eyeing up opportunities to snap up other businesses at a lower price.
Anand is also a non-executive director at supermarket giant Morrisons and was chairman of the Casual Dining Company before it collapsed into administration under the pressure of the pandemic last year.