Four Gloucestershire watering holes have new owners after a multi-million pound portfolio of pubs was sold by the Wadworth brewery.

Punchline reported in May of the Wiltshire-based Brewery's decision to list 24 of its leased and tenanted pubs for sale.

A buyer for 18 of those drinking houses has been found with Red Oak Taverns agreeing a deal to purchase the portfolio - all of which are in the South West.

According to reports, the new owners tapped into a £10million acquisition facility with OakNorth Bank to facilitate the deal.

That acquisition deal includes the England's Glory, Tall Ship and Linden Tree in Gloucester and the Butchers Arms in Stroud.

The Haw Bridge Inn near Tirley and Yew Tree in Conderton, that were also put up for sale by Wadworth in May are not included in the deal and remain for sale with Christie and Co.

Red Oak Taverns said that it plans to invest £1million in its new acquisitions and of desire to build strong relationships with the new tenants and licencees.

Mark Grunnell, co-founder of Red Oak Taverns said: "We are delighted to have secured this quality portfolio of pubs from Wadworth.

"We believe that the pubs and the licencees will benefit from Red Oak's flexible approach to operating leased and tenanted pubs and from the £1m of investment we have planned for the acquired portfolio.

"Our focus has already turned to building the strong relationships with our new tenant partners that are required to preserve the sustainability of these great British assets and the invaluable contribution they make to our communities."

"Approaching the eighth anniversary of our formation, we are still in our infancy and planning for the long term.

"We have built a strong platform, have a clear strategy and look forward to growing our business substantially over the coming years."

Chris Welham, Chief Executive of Wadworth said: "We are delighted to confirm a sale has been agreed to Red Oak Taverns.

"The sale has involved all parties working closely together to cause minimal disturbance to the tenants and their business."

Simon Chaplin, Senior Director at Christie & Co added, "This is further proof of the continuing strength in the pubs market as the sale attracted interest from numerous parties looking to acquire these assets in a popular and attractive part of the country.

"We were pleased to have secured a buyer in Red Oak who have a proven track record of investing in their estate and tenants."