Pub industry veteran John Miller plots return with new group
John Miller has secured his first site, the Woodmancote near Emsworth in West Sussex. He bought the freehold of the pub, which has been closed for about six months, from Wadworth for circa £300,000 and has spent about £150,000 on a refurbishment.
During the 1980s and 1990s JM Inns ran a chain of about 50 freeholds and leasehold pubs along the south coast, including the Cricketers and the Wick in Brighton and Mr Pickwick in Portsmouth.
Miller sold the business for an undisclosed sum and moved to Spain in the 1990s to run three restaurants in Marbella, but has now relocated to the UK. Miller said he would examine plans to secure more sites, depending on the success of the Woodmancote pub.
Meanwhile, another pub company has been set up by an experienced trade individual with plans to operate in Sussex and the south-east. Crew Pub Co, led by ex-Young’s general manager Jamie Flodman, has been launched with the acquisition of the Royal Oak in Midhurst.
The company plans to grow to six sites over the next seven years, targeting premium-dining sites with letting rooms. Flodman spent over a year at Young’s and was also a cluster manager at Geronimo Inns.
