Liberation Group and Cirrus Inns announce merger

UK and Channel Islands pub, brewing and drinks business, Liberation Group, and Cirrus Inns, the pub business that trades from Southwest London to the Cotswolds, have announced the merger of the two companies.  

As part of the merger, Liberation’s CEO Jonathan Lawson will lead the combined group, with Alex Langlands Pearse, the founder and CEO of Cirrus Inns, joining Liberation’s board as a non-executive director. 

It is reported that by combining the two businesses, they create an estate of 137 pubs that are made up of 79 managed and 58 tenanted sites, with an “extensive” accommodation offering of over 400 rooms from Southwest London to Bristol and the Channel Islands. 

According to the two groups, it will be “well-placed” to leverage its scale and expertise for the benefit of the business, its customers and its suppliers in the UK and the Channel Islands. 

Liberation Group has also been deliberate in its focus on local suppliers such as Walter Rose, Arthur David, and Hobbs House, as their products will reportedly form the backbone of the food offer that will be rolled out into the new pubs alongside the drinks ranges from its  strategic partners and its own breweries.

Lawson said: “Liberation Group, Cirrus and our respective majority shareholders, share a very similar view of pubs, and the unique role they play in our communities. Langy and his team have built a superb business which we are incredibly proud to welcome into Liberation Group. 

“This move is consistent with our strategy of focusing on freehold premium food led pubs with rooms and provides us with further volume growth for our highly successful and award-winning beers such as Butcombe Original, Liberation IPA and our brand-new Tall Tales Pale Ale.”

Langlands Pearse added: “I have watched the development of Liberation Group over the last few years and along with our major shareholder, the Heineken family, feel confident in the ability of its team to take the business forward.”