Sale of Sandpiper pubs complete

65 pubs and bars across the Channel Islands are now under new ownership.

The businesses along with the off-licence chains Victor Hugo Ltd and Bucktrouts and the Jersey Brewery will now be known as the Liberation Group.

A management buy-out of the portfolio of drinks businesses saw them sold by Sandpiper CI. Sandpiper says it wants to focus on its core activity of retail.

The Liberation Group will be based in Jersey and run by a team experienced in the hospitality and drinks trade. The management team behind the buyout are Mark Crowther, CEO; Declan Hearne, Finance Director; Kenrick Brooks, Operations Director Pubs; Dave Robilliard, MD of Bucktrout & Co Ltd; Martin Flageul, MD of Victor Hugo Ltd; and Ed Daubeney, Non-Executive Director. They are supported by Graham Turner, who has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of The Liberation Group.

The Group intends to invest in the businesses and told Channel Online there are no plans for any redundancies:

Liberation Group CEO Mark Crowther said: "We have come into this to invest, with the primary aim of growing the business in the mid- to long-term. We expect some of the managed pubs to move to tenancies, with some of our existing tenancies moving to longer agreements. Our objective is to build stability, confidence and growth."

"As a management team we are excited by the possibilities that lie ahead and our staff can look forward to being part of a reinvigorated and focussed group of companies, actively pursuing a policy of growth across the islands."

He added: "The deal was largely worked out around the time of Liberation Day (2008), which had an impact on some of the deadlines of the transaction. It became difficult to discuss the deal without mentioning Liberation Day, so it seemed natural to name the group after the Channel Islands' most important celebration."

Pubs and bars owned by Liberation Group:
Jersey...
Aurora
Bellini's
British Union
Caesarea
Chimes
Cock and Bottle
Corinthian
Dix Neuf
Don Inn
Exeter
Farmers Inn
Five Oaks
Foresters
Fridays
Gloster Vaults
Great Union
Horse and Hound
Jambo's
Kaiyum's
Landmark Inn
Le Hocq
Legends
Old England
Peirson
Posthorn
Robin Hood
's' Bar
Soleil Levant
Squires
St John's Inn
St Mary's
Star
Tams
The Office
Townhouse
Trafalgar
Trinity
Union Inn
Vic in the Valley
Vic Minden Place
Wellington
White Horse

Guernsey...
Albion Tavern
Baloos Bar
Barbados
Blind O' Reilly's
Britannia
Coulture Inn
De La Rue
Deerhound Inn
Dix Neuf
Dorset Arms
Foresters Arms
Happy Landings
Harbour Lights
Houmet Tavern
Longfrie
Olivers
Plough Inn
Victoria Arms
Wayside Tavern
White d' Or
White Hart

Alderney...
Coronation Inn
And Off
Marais Hall (from CIonline)

Well lets see who is still around in the next six months