10 July – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Linklaters has advised PricewaterhouseCoopers as administrators on the sale of business and assets of SFI Group Limited, and its subsidiaries, a Group which employs over 2900 people and operates 150 pubs and bars across the UK under the trading names: Slug and Lettuce, Bar Med, Havana, and the Litten Tree.
The sale to Yates’s Wine Lodges Limited was structured as an administration pre-pack with the selling companies being placed in administration immediately before completion.
The implementation of the sale through the appointment of administrators was an innovative method of minimising risk for both the buyer and the sellers. The sale comprised 98 leasehold properties together with the head office function and was structured in such a way as to allow continuous operation of these pubs and bars with no discernable disruption to the business operated from the sold sites or the sites which are to be traded by the administrators post completion.
The Linklaters team advising the administrators was led by partner Tony Bugg in London, assisted by Paul Bromfield, Nick Le Masurier, Clare Merrifield, Matthew Bowman. Advising the lenders were Richard Bussell, Alison Clark and Trent Chugg.
Tony Bugg, Linklaters banking partner, said:
“We are very pleased to have advised PwC on this complex and challenging pre-packed disposal using the out of court administration procedure.”
Allen & Overy advised the purchaser
