North East pub group with 25 boozers acquired for £22.4m

North East community pub group Wear Inns has been snapped up by a London-based investment firm.

Aprirose acquired the business for £22.4m from BGF and NVM Private Equity.

Wear Inns, founded in 2006, has an estate of 25 pubs across the North East and Yorkshire.

The company is headquartered in Castle Eden, County Durham.

Aprirose chief exec Manish Gudka said: “The acquisition of the Wear Inns business will complement our current portfolio of pubs across the UK.

“The brand has developed a first-class reputation with a focus on community, quality drink, customers and staff.”

Manish added: “We have a clear vision of building a pub group of scale and we look forward to supporting Wear Inns on their next stage of growth.”

The deal follows Aprirose’s acquisition, completed last summer, of 73 pubs from Mitchells & Butlers.

BGF’s Barry Jackson, who has been on the Wear Inns board since 2013, commented: “It has been a privilege to have worked with and supported the growth of the Wear Inns’ estate during the past six years.

“Within the North East business community in particular, the business developed a first-class reputation. It will, I’m sure, remain a powerful example of what can be achieved through ambition, leadership and vision for many years to come.”

Karl Cockwill, of NVM, said: “Wear Inns is a great business that was founded by John Sands and John Weir. They were a talented and ambitious team that built an impressive portfolio of North Eastern pubs.

“Their passing was untimely, but this exit is a testament to the team and business they built during our partnership.”

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