St Austell Brewery has exchanged contracts to purchase the freeholds of four South West pubs from Punch Taverns with completion to take place in early July. 

The purchase of the four pubs (three in Cornwall and one in Devon) will increase St Austell Brewery's pub estate to 173.

St Austell Brewery Estate Director Adam Luck commented: "We are delighted to have purchased these sites. All are high quality businesses and their locations fit extremely well with our current portfolio of pubs and hotels. We are very proud of our pub business and look forward to welcoming the existing tenants and their teams to the St Austell Brewery estate."

This latest investment follows an impressive year for the Cornish brewer which has seen a 25 per cent year-on-year increase in sales of its ales, investment in a £700,000 project to build a new in-house bottling line and the doors opened on a new Cornwall Distribution Centre in St Columb to serve as a regional hub for all its 2,000 customers in Cornwall.

In March St Austell Brewery beat some of the biggest names in the country to become the UK's Regional Brewer of the Year - judged not only on the quality of its beers but also its pub estate and award-winning staff, food and training.

The pubs being acquired from Punch Taverns are:

• Borough Arms -  Dunmere, Bodmin
• Holly Tree Inn -  Withycombe Village Road, Exmouth
• Paris Hotel - The Cove, Coverack, Helston
• Top House - Landewednack, The Lizard, Helston