Alchemy linked with Whitbread pubs
Accountancy Age awards nominee John Moulton has been linked with a £1.5m bid for Whitbread's chain of 3,000 pubs.
In a surprise move, Whitbread last week put its pubs up for sale following its failure last year to land Allied Domecq’s 3,500-strong pub estate.
Alchemy, the venture capital company headed by chartered accountant Moulton, is now considering a bid for the chain, according to yesterday’s Observer newspaper. In April, Alchemy was unable to strike a deal to buy the car-maker Rover from BMW after the parties were unable to agree on certain contractual matters.
One industry expert told the Observer that if Alchemy did clinch a deal with Whitbread, the venture capital company would move alongside rival Nomura ‘at a stroke’.
Moulton has been shortlisted for this year’s Accountancy Age Awards 2000 Personality of the Year. Moulton, who is due to attend the awards dinner on 1 November, has been nominated alongside seven other contenders for the coveted award.