About us/Our history Blackmores, 24 Bondgate Withcut, Alnwick, NE66 1PN June 2009 - To signify the coming together of its leased and managed businesses, Spirit Group is renamed Punch Pub Company and Punch Taverns (Leased) renamed Punch Partnerships. Punch Taverns is retained as the Group identity.  April 2007 - A strategic review of the estate led to the disposal of 869 non-core pubs to Admiral Taverns, reducing the overall estate. April 2007 - We became 50 percent owners of Matthew Clark - a leading international producer and marketeer of beverage alcohol brands. September 2006 - We further strengthened its managed estate by the purchase of 82 quality food led outlets from Mill House Inns, subsequently selling just 4. August 2006 - We sold 31 Old Orleans restaurants to Regent Inns plc. June 2006 - We completed the sale of a further tranche of 290, former Spirit, managed pubs to Orchid Pubs Ltd, for £571 million. The sale included the Q’s, Mr Q’s, Country Carvery and Bar Room Bar concepts, although some pubs within those concepts were retained, and re-positioned within the Punch estate. The sale formed part of a planned disposal of 380 pubs from the estate. January 2006 - We acquired Spirit Group, an estate of 1,829 managed pubs. We also sold 203 pubs from the Punch estate to Admiral Taverns for £40 million and 205 pubs to the Petchey Group for £98 million, again after a review of the enlarged estate to identify areas of local concentration. August 2005 - We acquired Avebury Holdings Limited, an estate of over 409 pubs. January 2005 - We disposed of 545 pubs which had been identified as non-core to Punch's long-term strategy, which took the estate to 7,800 pubs. September 2004 - We announced the acquisition of the Innspired Group, an estate of 1,064 pubs for £335 million and agreed to sell 88 pubs in areas of high concentration, taking the estate to over 8,300 pubs. June 2004 - Punch launched a new corporate identity, and globally adopted the name Punch Taverns. November 2003 - We announced a deal to buy Pubmaster for £1.193 billion, which saw Punch acquire 3,115 leased and tenanted pubs, of which 256 were sold on. This took the estate to over 7,400 pubs and consolidated Punch’s position as one of the two leading pub companies in the UK. August 2003 - Punch’s estate comprised of 4,515 pubs, through the acquisition of 283 new outlets at a cost of £121 million. Acquisitions included package deals with Honeycombe Leisure, Spirit Group, Greene King and Conquest Inns, plus further purchases from freeholders. May 2002 - We changed our name to Punch Taverns plc as we listed on the Stock Exchange. March 2002 - Spirit Group Holdings, a holding company for the managed pubs business operating 1,040 pubs, was demerged, resulting in our company becoming a wholly leased and tenanted pubs business. During 2000 - The estate was integrated into a single operation which traded as Punch Pub Company. September 1999 - Our business was enlarged by the two acquisitions of Inn Business Group plc and the Vanguard estate from Allied Domecq plc. 1997 - The company was established when the original Punch Taverns portfolio was acquired from the Bass Lease Company.