Red Oak Taverns confirms debt refinancing

Red Oak Taverns, the independent pub company, has revealed it has refinanced its debt with Oaknorth Bank

OakNorth previously financed the business for six years, ahead of Red Oak moving to Hayfin in March 2022.

Red Oak Taverns was founded by Mark Grunnell and Aaron Brown in 2011 and has been on an active acquisition trail since then, having grown from 32 units in 2012 to 227 today. The company’s estate is made up of both tied and free of tie pubs.

Speaking about the deal, co-founder and CEO of Red Oak, Mark Grunnell said: “When we refinanced OakNorth early last year we left them on good terms, and the opportunity has arisen for us to renew our relationship. The new deal allows us to reduce our cost of capital, whilst retaining our acquisition firepower.

“I would also like to put on record our thanks to Hayfin who have supported us through the successful acquisition of 31 pubs over the past 18 months, including packages from Marstons, Everards, McMullens and most recently St Austell. Like OakNorth before them, we leave them on good terms and with appreciation for what they have helped us to achieve in a challenging acquisition environment.”