Premier's Wright adds pubs to Mid 250

Premier's Chris Wright has introduced pub companies into his £38m UK Mid 250 fund.

The manager believes the outlook for these companies is improving. He has added a 2% holding in Greene King and taken a 0.5% position in Punch Taverns. "I like pub companies. The physical pub prices have stopped falling and the rates of decline are slowing," he says. "As the weaker ones have dropped out, the remainder have a bigger market share and we are seeing some taking opportunities to raise prices on food." The UK Mid 250 has returned 32.3% over five years to 8 February, compared to an IMA UK All Companies sector average of 19.5%.