InnSpired to grow northern presence
InnSpired Group is preparing to strengthen its presence outside of its native South West after buying a package from a leading northern operator.
Chief executive Peter Brook said the Wiltshire-based company was focusing its acquisition plans on finding outlets in the North, the Midlands and London.
Last week, it spent more than £1m on buying three managed houses and one tenancy from Newcastle-based group Sir John Fitzgerald.
It is the latest stage in InnSpired's efforts to double the size of its estate from its current 1,000, which is likely to include more major deals soon.
Formed out of the estates of Wiltshire brewer Ushers of Trowbridge and Southampton-based The Alehouse Company, most of its pubs are in the South West.
Brook said: "As we expand, the geographical spread is becoming much wider with outlets in the Midlands, the North and London."
InnSpired, which is backed by venture capital group Alchemy Partners, bought more than 200 pubs last year.
This included 172 from Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries for £28.25m, made up of tenancies in the Midlands, North West and North East.
InnSpired has joined the likes of Nomura's Unique Pub Company and Inn Partnership to consider packages being sold by Bass, Scottish & Newcastle and Whitbread.
Brook said: "We would look at existing managed houses that are suitable to convert to tenancy.
"But it's not just about getting the numbers up. We want to have 2,000 pubs of the right quality, which provide us with good returns and provide the tenants with a decent living."
InnSpired has also set aside £2.5m to invest in refurbishments and has developed a new tenancy agreement and better discounts to reward licensees for boosting volume sales of beer.
Its latest acquisition allows Sir John Fitzgerald, which is one of the North East's most well-known pub operators with 30 sites, to focus on larger outlets.
Its managing director David Horgan said: "Our long-term plan is to develop a smaller number of larger pubs and the four we are selling did not fit in with this aim.
"However, they are all good pubs and we are confident InnSpired will develop their potential."
