The secret to dealmaking in the Square Mile, any seasoned exec will tell you, is a glass of claret and a good juicy steak.
That was certainly the case for Clive Watson, the former CEO of City Pub Group (does what it says on the tin). Last year, Simon Dodds, CEO at rival’s Young’s invited him to lunch at Smiths, the posh eatery at the top of Smithfield market. Over wine and sirloins, Dodds fawned over his pub chain rival.
“We did the usual, how’s your life, a bit of football chat, did you watch the rugby,” Watson told Spy. “But after an hour of this stuff, he suddenly turned and said...Clive I want to buy your business.”
Fast forward to March of this year and after a bit of haggling over the price, Watson completed the sale of the City to Young’s in a £162 million deal.
And that was far from his first rodeo. The agreement, which saw Watson pocket more than £6 million, is the third chain he has found a buyer for after selling Tup Inns to Massive in 1999 for £4 million and handing Capital Pub Company to Greene King in 2011 for £93 million.
And as it turns out, it will not be his last: anyone who knows Watson, father of Made in Chelsea star Tiffany Watson, knows he is never more than a few yards from a good jar.
Since quitting City, Watson has been wined and dined once more, and will now chair Inda Pubs, a boutique chain of 8 boozers set in the well-heeled parts of London, including the gorgeous The HillGate in Notting Hill and The Portman in Marylebone. And the appointment is something of a throwback for Clive. The chain belongs to James Corbett, son of the founder of the Slug & Lettuce chain, who gave Watson his first big break in the pubs world.
Best of luck to him, says Spy.
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