Capital opens two new sites

Rapidly expanding pub group Capital has shrugged off suggestions that there is a shortage of good acquisition opportunities, opening two new sites.

The company, headed by pub entrepreneurs David Bruce and Clive Watson, has now raised more than £25m from private investors through its two Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS).

With 16 pubs now operating and half a dozen more in the pipeline, Capital believes it is one of the most successful EIS-funded businesses in the sector.

The two latest openings are the Crown & Anchor, a former Young's pub at Turnham Green, and the Inn at Kew Gardens, the bar of the Kew Gardens Hotel (pictured)​ acquired by Capital last year.

The Crown & Anchor, sold by Young's to a property developer who then sold it on rather than redevelop the site, has been given a basic refurbishment and reopened within a week of the deal completing.

"It's one of the fastest turnarounds I've ever known in the trade," said Mr Bruce.

"It's just a basic old-fashioned local, and has been busy from the word go."

It also marks a nostalgic moment for Mr Bruce, who considered a site nearby when he was building the Firkin brew pub chain 25 year ago. "Our slogan was going to be 'Bruce's beers turn' em green'," he quipped.

The Kew Gardens Hotel represents a more serious investment, with Capital spending £750,000 on upgrading the building. As well as the pub, Mr Bruce has high hopes for the accommodation side.

"It looks fantastic," he said. "We're charging £120 a night for a double room and in that part of London I think we'll get it.

"I've no time for pubcos who say there are no freeholds out there," Mr Bruce added.

"There are plenty of opportunities if you look - but as we always say, if you wait for them to be advertised, it's too late."