Star Pubs and Weston Castle look to expand partnership
It comes as Weston takes on its seventh lease with Star at the Queens Arms in Aintree, Liverpool, which will see a joint £250,000 refurbishment ahead of a mid-March re-opening.
It takes Weston to a 35-strong estate with the White Horse, Manchester; The Old Bridge, Blackpool; Broadfield, Leyland; Chestergate, Stockport; Station, Altrincham; Halfway House, Runcorn its other pubs with Star.
Chris Jowsey, trading director for Star, said: “Over the last 11 months we have formed an extremely good relationship with Weston Castle. The Star Pubs & Bars estate is focused on quality and Weston Castle has high standards across the board from social media and marketing to getting the offer right in pub.
“The initial pubs they took with us required no investment. We have now developed our partnership to encompass sites requiring capital expenditure. We have proved this business model works for both parties with sales at the Chestergate in Stockport increasing six-fold as a result of a joint investment there.
"We hope to build on this success and anticipate we could work together at up to seven other sites over the course of the next year.”
Partnership
Chris Tulloch, Weston Castle managing director, said: “We took our first sites with Star Pubs & Bars a year ago as a trial of them and of shorter term non FRI leases which we had not used before. We’ve found it a great partnership and now have seven pubs with them. Their range of brands – Fosters, John Smiths and Strongbow – is perfect for the community sector of the market which we serve. As a multiple operator, SmartDispense has proved a huge bonus – making training easier and ensuring consistently good quality beer which is key for us as our pubs are wet led.”
The investment in the Queens Arms will include creating a decked garden with heated parasols outside. The pub will specialise in sports with 80-inch plasma screens, BT Sport and Sky as well as games such as pool and darts. Live entertainment will also be a focus and the pub will have a rota of events ranging from quiz nights to karaoke.
