Northcote sells Ribble Valley Inns

Cheshire-based Brunning & Price has bought Ribble Valley Inns from the Northcote Group.

The acquisition covers The Three Fishes in Mitton, The Highwayman at Kirkby Lonsdale, The Clog & Billycock in Pleasington and The Bull at Broughton. It did not include the Nag's Head in Tarporley, which will be sold separately.

Brunning & Price is the pubs division of The Restaurant Group and a four-time winner of The Good Pub Guide: Pub Group of the Year award.

The new acquisitions join a portfolio of 62 sites around the UK, which already included the Aspinall Arms in Clitheroe and Haighton Manor in Preston.

Mary Willcock, managing director of Brunning & Price, said: "We have admired Ribble Valley Inns for many years and believe that these well-known and long-established businesses are perfectly positioned geographically for us to enhance our presence in the north of England.

"As always, we feel that a pub should retain its own personal character and look forward to working with the teams locally to ensure they prosper and thrive in the coming months and years."

The Northcote group includes the Michelin-starred Northcote hotel in Langho, Northcote at the Rovers and Cafe Northcote, found inside Blackburn's cathedral.

Craig Bancroft, managing director at Northcote, said: “When approached by Christie & Co regarding the potential acquisition of Ribble Valley Inns, our first question was to who. Once we learnt that Brunning & Price were the interested party it made perfect sense to pursue the enquiry to its conclusion. "Brunning & Price are a superbly run pub operation who invest in their people and their sites, building community food led pubs – very much in the stamp of Ribble Valley Inns, in our view the perfect fit and we wish them a great deal of success."