Matthew Clark: Punch Taverns share sale rumoured
National drinks wholesaler Matthew Clark is rumoured to be up for sale as part of exploratory discussions at Punch Taverns, a 50% shareholder in the business.
Having celebrated a successful 2014 Christmas season with sales breaking the £100m mark, the company has also recently added 30 new boutique producers from across the Old and New World to its new wine list.
Supporting over 16,000 on-trade premises in the UK, Matthew Clark has continued to exceed generated earnings year-on-year since the original joint venture between Punch and Constellation Europe (a division of Constellation Brands) in April 2007 when the two businesses joined forces.
On a day-to-day basis the business has continued to be run independently by Steve Thomson, managing director of Matthew Clark Wholesale, and his Bristol-based team.
According to The Telegraph, Punch, which owns 3,654 pubs in the UK alongside Australian private equity firm CHAMP equity (which acquired the Constellation Brands share in 2011) is looking to sell its 50% share in order to provide a potential £200m cash boost for the group.
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