A community pub group headquartered in Solihull has been bought for £106.8 million.

London-based property investor New River has acquired Hawthorn Leisure which operates 298 pubs including the Last Orders chain.

Listed New River, whose portfolio of commercial properties includes the Central Square shopping precinct in Erdington, said it had identified the pub sector as an attractive investment opportunity.

In 2013, it bought 202 pubs from Wolverhampton-based brewery and pub chain Marston's and a further 158 venues from Staffordshire group Punch Taverns in 2015.

New River's chief executive Allan Lockhart said: "The acquisition of Hawthorn Leisure is absolutely aligned with our strategy of investing in retail and leisure assets at the heart of the communities across the UK.

"The portfolio is highly complementary to our existing pub portfolio and the combined portfolio remains below 20 per cent of our total assets."

Chief financial officer Mark Davies added: "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of this high-quality portfolio of community pubs and a well-established platform which will contribute significant funds from operations and be accretive to our net asset value.

"Having taken over executive responsibility for our pub portfolio, I look forward to working with our experienced management teams to establish a market leading business which will deliver synergies and drive highly accretive cash returns."

Hawthorn Leisure's senior management team of Gerry Carroll, Mark McGinty and Matthew Ward will all remain with the company following completion of the deal.

Hawthorn Leisure's senior management team of chief executive Gerry Carroll, managing director of operations Mark McGinty and chief financial officer Matthew Ward will all remain with the company following completion of the deal.

Mr Carroll added: "The acquisition is the best possible outcome for our people and 298 leased and managed pubs across England, Scotland and Wales.

"The deal provides a strong platform for our ambitious growth plans and ensures we not only retain all staff and our head office but the Hawthorn Leisure brand and values that we live by.

"New River has bought into the Hawthorn Leisure team, as much as the pubs, so for us it's business as usual.

"As such, we will continue to support our partners to achieve the best possible results."