Award-winning licensee opens second pub
Multiple Publican Award winner Matthew O'Keefe, licensee of the Royal Standard of England, has purchased his second pub and formed a new pub group called Cavalier Inns.
O'Keefe, who picked up awards for Freehouse of the Year and Pub of the Year at last month's awards, has bought ex-Spirit pub the Mulberry Bush in Coleshill near Amersham, Buckinghamshire, from Punch Taverns for £670,000.
The pub is on a busy road between Beaconsfield and Amersham, three miles from the Royal Standard of England. O'Keefe said the pub had previously not been trading well and that he had paid for the site's potential.
The sale completed last week, with Christie + Co acting on behalf of the vendors.
The Mulberry Bush is to be renamed the Harte and Magpies.
Although open and trading, the building will gradually be refurbished to remove modern decorations and strip it back to something more in keeping with its Victorian heritage.
O'Keefe said: "I'm a great believer in every pub having its own personality. To go forward, you have to go back. Britain's pubs are the envy of the world. We should cherish that heritage and, rather than copy the decorations of an American diner, it should look like a real pub."
He also confirmed that he will not be selling any major drinks brands in the Harte and Magpies, a policy established at the Royal Standard of England. Beer will be sourced entirely from local brewers, such as the Cotswold Brewing Company and the Chiltern Brewery. Locally sourced, home-made food will also be served.
