Geronimo Inns opens pub in Westfield shopping centre

Award-winning managed operator Geronimo Inns has unveiled the first pub to open its doors in the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, west London.

As well as creating 30 jobs Geronimo has spent £800,000 developing The Bull in what is the largest shopping and leisure centre in Europe.

It is the London-based Geronimo's seventh pub opening this year, taking the group's estate to 27 sites.

Rupert Clevely, Geronimo's chief executive, declined to reveal the rent his company was paying to take on the 25 year lease, or whether it had secured a rent-free period on going into the site. But he said the group had "a very good relationship" with Westfield.

Clevely said the group's pubs were seeing "very strong trading", with bookings for the Christmas period up 25 per cent on last year.

"Companies that might have gone elsewhere [for their parties] in recent years are booking with us this year. It shows the power of good quality pubs to draw people away from expensive restaurants, especially in the current climate."

Clevely added that good London pubs appeared to have fared better than many other parts of the country.

After buying a package of pubs from Punch Taverns earlier this year Clevely said the group would be trying to identify individual pubs in London to acquire in the coming months.

"We don't have the cash to buy packages at the moment, but we will look at opportunities as they arise.

"My gut feeling is there will be such opportunities in the New Year as banks look to offload distressed pubs," he added.

The Bull in Westfield features seating for 130 people over two floors, as well as an 'outdoor' balcony - the shopping centre is enclosed - and a private dining room which can double up as a pool room.

Clevely said the pub would appeal to local residents and shopping visitors alike. "There is nothing like this pub in Shepherd's Bush," he added.