£56m Cloverleaf swallowed by Greene King

NORTH West pub and restaurant company Cloverleaf has been swallowed by Greene King in a £55.8m deal.

Blackburn-based Cloverleaf, which has 12 sites across the North and Midlands, has a strong food offering, which attracted Suffolk-based Greene King.

In a statement to the Stock Market Greene King said it had paid 8.7x annualised outlet ebitda for privately-owned Cloverleaf.

The listed company said it plans to invest £25m in 10 new openings over the next two years.

In a statement it said: “This is an exciting acquisition for Greene King as Cloverleaf operates large, freehold, quality pub restaurants, across the North of England and the Midlands, and is well positioned to capitalise on the growing carvery market.

“It is growing strongly both organically, with LFL sales growing ahead of our existing retail business, and through additional sites. There is a strong pipeline of new sites with a minimum of ten additional outlets expected to open within two years.”

Rooney Anand, chief executive, Greene King, said: “Cloverleaf’s management team, including founders John Winder and Gary Douglas, will remain with the business joining the Greene King management team, and we look forward to welcoming them both, and everyone at Cloverleaf to Greene King.”

John Winder, director of Cloverleaf, added: “This is a brilliant opportunity for us to make more of our business.

“This deal sees us join a well-respected and successful group with a clear strategy to grow the business.  It gives us greater access to investment and more opportunity for expansion and development.”

Founded in 2004, Cloverleaf has sites in Burnely, Bury, Runcorn and Haydock.