Designers could reap dividends from pub merger

Corporate identity and branding specialists will today turn their attention to the £11bn merger proposal between pub operators Punch Taverns and Mitchells & Butlers.

Corporate identity and branding specialists will today turn their attention to the £11bn merger proposal between pub operators Punch Taverns and Mitchells & Butlers.


The deal, if approved, would create a pub conglomerate worth around £3.7bn, with more than 10 500 outlets, spanning food and leisure brands including Bar Room Bar, Firkin Beer Co pubs, Millers, Country Carvery, Orchard and Tom Cobleigh, and the Mitchells & Butlers-owned All Bar One chain.


According to a statement released by Punch Taverns today, ‘The proposal includes plans for a management and board structure for the combined company, [with] the remainder of the senior executives and board members drawn from both companies reflecting the expertise within Mitchells & Butlers and Punch’s respective operations.’


A spokeswoman for Punch Taverns says it is too early to contemplate any review of corporate identity for a merged company, or to anticipate any changes in the company’s extensive design and branding rosters.


The company has undergone a number of branding exercises and refurbishment programmes with the help of its rostered design groups since its formation in 1997, though a spokeswoman for the company declines to give any further details.


Punch Taverns’ ‘original identity’, according to a spokeswoman, was created by its in-house design team in 2002.


Punch Taverns was founded in 1997 when it bought the Bass Lease portfolio of public houses. It bought Pubmaster in November 2003, and in December 2005 took over The Spirit Group, making it the largest pub operator in the UK.

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