Burton based pub operator Punch Taverns is climbing its way up the rankings of the most admired companies in Britain.

Management Today’s ‘Britain’s Most Admired Companies’ awards 2005 placed the leased and tenanted pubco at number two in its industry sector and 24th out of 220 in the national ‘Most Admired’ league table – a jump of 65 places from 2004.

Punch also came runner up in the ‘Use of Corporate Assets’ award category, one place behind supermarket giant Tesco and one ahead of Vodafone.

Customer services director Francis Patton said: “This has been a busy and hugely successful year for Punch Taverns.  

“We have increased the size of our pub portfolio through selective acquisition, culminating in the recent deal to purchase the Spirit Group, trained around 3,000 licensees and staff members and invested £63m in pub refurbishment projects.

“The news of our improved position in Management Today’s league table, from 89th to 24th, is a fantastic achievement and spurs us on to try and top our industry sector in next year’s competition.”

Britain’s Most Admired Companies awards are organised by business magazine Management Today and supported by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

In conjunction with Nottingham Business School, Management Today asked Britain’s 10 largest public companies in 22 sectors to evaluate their peers.  Analysts at leading city investment firms were also polled and the results used to calculate all league table positions.

Punch currently owns 8,200 pubs across the UK, which will increase to around 10,000 once the Spirit deal is granted shareholder approval.

Punch is based at Burton’s Centrum 100 complex and employs 500 staff.

Ends

Note to Editors: Punch was ranked in second place by Management Today in the ‘Restaurants, Pubs and Breweries’ sector.  The top five positions were,
  
1. Mitchells & Butlers
2. Punch Taverns
3. Greene King
4. Enterprise Inns
5. Wolverhampton & Dudley 

Full results are published in the December edition of Management Today.

For further information please contact Nick Trueman or Oliver Du Croz at Seal Communications on 0121 200 0780