Pub operator Admiral Taverns has acquired 376 tenanted pubs from KUC (Public Houses) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – for £137m.

The estate, which is currently managed by Chester-based Pyramid Pub Management, are predominantly community locals and rural pubs located across the UK.

Lynne D’Arcy, chief operating officer of Admiral Taverns, said: “This latest acquisition represents a strong geographical fit and will increase the size and quality of the Admiral estate.

“In securing the deal we have once again demonstrated our ability to move quickly and we look forward to pursuing further opportunities to grow our estate.”

The acquisition will increase the number of pubs owned by Admiral to around 1,200.

Admiral is a joint venture between the Landesberg and Rosenberg families, which was set up in March 2004 to build a tenanted pub estate.