A couple have sold the pub company they set up from scratch 15 years ago to a major chain for £60 million.
Pub and brewing firm Young’s bought Geronimo Inns – which owns 26 individually-designed properties – from Rupert and Jo Clevely and investment firm Penta Capital, a majority shareholder.
The couple, who own 33% of the business, are set to pocket around £8 million from the sale, which includes debt of £35.5 million.
Geronimo generates an average weekly turnover of £23,000 per pub and was set up in 1995 when the Clevelys returned from Australia with ideas on how to revive the British pub.
Mr Clevely, 53, will stay on as managing director of Geronimo, and join the Young’s board as an executive director, while Mrs Clevely will continue to work on the pub design, which is central to its core strategy.
