Linklaters has advised Greene King, the leading pub retailer and brewer in the UK, on its £300m secured corporate bond issuance. This is the first new-money rated secured corporate bond undertaken by a UK pub company since the financial crisis.

Linklaters also advised Greene King on its successful acquisition of Spirit Pub Company which completed in June 2015.

Kirk Davis, Chief Financial Officer at Greene King, said: “We are delighted with our new benchmark bond issuance. The expert guidance of the Linklaters team helped us to close the deal successfully and smoothly.”

Reza Taylor, Counsel at Linklaters, said: “Following Greene King’s acquisition of Spirit Pub Company last year, this deal is part of Greene King’s strategy to create the leading managed pub company in the UK. We were delighted to see the very strong investor appetite for Greene King paper. More broadly, we are seeing significant interest in high quality rated UK secured corporate debt (such as Greene King’s) – this is a safe haven for many at the moment, particularly against the backdrop of uncertainties in the wider global economy and the upcoming Brexit referendum.”

The Linklaters team was led by counsel Reza Taylor and included partners James Harbach and Mark Burgess-Smith.

Linklaters has advised on a large number of significant deals in the Food & Beverage sector in recent years, including advising SABMiller plc on its £71bn recommended acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and advising on the restructuring of Punch Tavern’s £2.3 billion structured debt and £83 million of listed equity.