City Pub Co buys first three pubs
The freehold of the Cork in Bath has been bought for £2.72m from a private owner; AG&G acted for the sellers. A lease on an unnamed Cambridge pub, owned by the university, has also been secured. It’s understood a pub in Henley, Oxon, will open on a former police station and have its own brewery, subject to planning permission.
City Pub Company non-executive director John Roberts said the Cambridge and Henley pubs are expected to open this summer.
The City Pub Company venture has secured 100 investors raising £4m through the EIS for this tax year, with plans to raise £16m during the next tax year.
On the company’s expansion plans, Roberts told M&C Report: “We’ve certainly got one or two others that we are closing in on as well.
“It’s a case of getting the right sites. We are not looking to spend money for the sake of it and there’s a lot of competition for sites.”
Last year Bruce and Watson, founders of Capital Pub Company, teamed up with Roberts, former managing director of Fuller’s Beer Company, to launch twin EIS-founded firms City Pub Company (East) and City Pub Company (West); Roberts has said they could reach 30-40 sites.
