BREWER Daniel Thwaites has announced a £12 million Christmas spending spree with the purchase of a string of pubs in the Midlands and Yorkshire.

The Blackburn company has bought 28 properties from the Nice Pub Company, the tenanted arm of Tom Cobleigh, as part of its bid to expand outside the North West.

The deal, worth about £400,000 per pub, takes the Thwaites pub estate to more than 400 houses.

And according to managing director Paul Baker, the move sees Thwaites opening up new trading opportunities in previously untapped markets across Nottinghamshire, as well as increasing a presence in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. The acquisition fits our long-term strategy for expanding our trading estate with top class community houses in new regions," said Mr Baker.

"We have a policy aimed at adding new pubs at the top end and these fit the bill perfectly.

"We have already tested our products in the new region and they have met with a most encouraging response from customers.

"We look forward to the challenge of new trading opportunities within these areas."

Thwaites' retail director Paul Howarth said: "We set ourselves the task of finding some more high-quality, well-run houses in prime locations and that is precisely what we feel we have achieved.

"These are substantial and sustainable pubs run by excellent tenants and we see it as a great long-term investment."

The £12 million deal represents Thwaites' biggest single pub group purchase and follows on from a £7million investment to buy nine flagship managed houses in the West Midlands from Bass back in the summer of 2000.

"The West Midlands experience has worked very well indeed and we feel equally confident about this latest deal," said Thwaites' property director Malcolm Harrison.