Urban Pubs & Bars acquires three-strong London pub portfolio

London operator Urban Pubs & Bars has taken its estate to 40 sites with the acquisition of three pubs from ZX Ventures, the innovation incubator within AB InBev, for an undisclosed sum, Propel has learned. The business has acquired the Queens Head (formerly the Goose Island site in Shoreditch), the Monarchy in Camden (where Camden Town brewery began its journey as a small start-up) and The Horseshoe in Hampstead. This takes the total sites owned by Urban to 40, which the business said marked it out as “a major player, building success in the highly competitive sector”. The company said: “The additions to the portfolio are all located in popular areas that the group have previously identified, adding to existing locations in areas such as Soho, Highgate, Fitzrovia and Kensal Green amongst many others.” No announcement has yet been made about the concepts that the business plans for the new venues. Nick Pring, co-founder of Urban Pubs & Bars, said: “We have been looking at these sites for some time and are delighted to further increase our presence in these attractive locations in east and north London.” Malcolm Heap, also a co-founder, added: “We are excited to enter this new phase of expansion with the acquisition of these three iconic venues, their positions are a natural fit with our existing portfolio.” Last year, Urban announced a partnership with Davidson Kempner and Global Mutual, which was established to support and accelerate the growth of the business. The company said at the time that it was looking to grow its estate in the capital to up to 70 sites. The transaction on the three sites was brokered by James Grimes of AG&G, who said: “I think this proves that it is not all doom and gloom in the market, and to be fair, Urban were very patient and positive in a deal that took many months. Clearly they remain optimistic about the future.”