Property round-up
Inn Collection Group adds 21st site, MediaCityUK beer house in the pipeline
Campervan Brewery to open Leith beer garden
After more than a year of closure, Edinburgh-based Campervan Brewery reopened its transformed community taproom as a beer garden in Leith on Wednesday 28 April.
The 20 table, 100 capacity, garden has been a long-standing project for Campervan founder Paul Gibson and was initially planned for spring 2020.
With 10 beers on tap, it showcases both Campervan brewery classics alongside a range of craft beers from across the UK, as well as a selection of wine, local spirits and soft drinks.
“The beer garden has been in the back of my mind for quite a long time,” Gibson said. “We had this space at the front of the brewery and I could see it becoming an amazing place where people can come and chill under the sun with a pint of Leith Juice
“Our taproom has always been open to everyone and we’ve been lucky enough to work on a lot of different projects in the past, always close to the community and to our values of inclusivity,” he continued.
“With our new beer garden it’s really important for us to keep being a part of this and to always give back to Leith and the community that has been supporting us from the very beginning.”
UKH issues £2.5bn rent debt warning
As reported by The Morning Advertiser (MA), UKHospitality has written to the Government urging it to adopt a raft of proposals to help tackle the £2.5bn rent debt crisis threatening the hospitality sector’s recovery and widespread job losses.
In a letter to communities and local government secretary of state Robert Jenrick MP before submitting formal evidence, UKH warned that while some landlords have adopted a supportive stance towards tenants, a host of commercial landlords are taking a heavy-handed approach.
UKH’s recommendations include extending protections for six months after Covid restrictions are removed, targeted at sectors that have been severely affected by the pandemic, and developing of a national-level adjudication process on “legacy rent debt”.
“The time has come to get this issue sorted,” chief executive Kate Nicholls said. “As a starting point, our overriding principle is that businesses and landlords have to share the pain caused by enforced closures and restrictions.
“With the right outcomes, we can help to protect the hospitality sector in the short-term and accelerate its recovery – contributing to more jobs and reviving high streets and communities.”
Nightcap takes on Adventure
Recently formed hospitality group Nightcap has completed its second purchase by acquiring the owner of brands including Blame Gloria and Tonight Josephine, Adventure Bar Group.
The deal, completed for an undisclosed sum, means Adventure founders Thomas Kidd and Tobias Jackson will continue to work within the business as Nightcap pushes its growth from nine sites up to 40 in cities nationwide.
Of Adventure Bar's sites across the capital, all but two (Jimi Loves Gloria in Soho and the Lost Alhambra in Leicester Square) will not form part of the transaction.
The acquisition of Adventure Bar comprises an initial consideration of £1m payable in new Nightcap shares on completion and up to £1.5m of deferred consideration, payable in new Nightcap shares, dependent on the financial performance of Adventure Bar post-acquisition.
Nightcap will also take on Adventure Bar’s bank debt of £4.3m, where a minimum of £1.3m will be paid off upon completion.
It is also seeking to raise in the region of £4m through the placing of new shares with investors to fund the roll out of the Tonight Josephine, Bar Elba and Luna Springs brands, in a bid to expand Adventure Bar up to 40 sites nationwide.
Abé back in the pub with Blue Boar launch
Top chef Sally Abé is making a welcome return to the pub trade with the opening of the Blue Boar Pub this May.
Abé, who built up an incredible reputation at London’s Harwood Arms and regularly featured in the top 10 of The MA's Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs, is now heading up the food and beverage team as executive chef at the Conrad London St James Hotel.
The Blue Boar is the first of four new openings at the Conrad and will be a modern take on the classic London pub.
Already a much-loved favourite in the Westminster area, Abé will be bring her vast experience from the Harwood arms to refine and elevate the food offer at the newly refurbished Blue Boar.
Inn Collection Group makes North Tyneside debut
Northern pubco the Inn Collection Group has added a 21st site to its portfolio in the form of art deco site the Park Hotel at North Tyneside’s Longsands beach.
The growing pub group – which boasts sites in Northumberland, County Durham, Teesside, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Wearside – completed on the 53-bedroom venue in an undisclosed deal.
“We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming the Park into our pubs with rooms family,” managing director of the Inn Collection Group Sean Donkin said. “With its location alongside one of the UK’s most popular beaches and proximity to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, it’s a great fit with our brand, offering customers stunning places to eat, drink, sleep and explore from in outstanding locations across Northern England.
“We’re excited to have established a new presence in North Tyneside with a site as unique and dynamic as The Park. It has been a long-term target and we are looking forward to developing the site with a view to maximising the opportunities presented from its location, potential offering and local environment.”
City Pub Group acquires 49% Barts Pub stake
The City Pub Group has acquired a 49% stake in Barts Pub Ltd, owner of the Kensington Park Hotel in London’s Ladbroke Grove, for £750,000.
The leasehold pub is found 200m from Ladbroke Grove tube station, has large trading areas on the ground and first floors, benefits from seven hotel letting rooms and has potential for a further four letting rooms on the top floor.
The City Pub Group will operate the pub under a management contract and has an option to buy the freehold for £5.5m up until March 2024.
The news was accompanied by the announcement that City Pub Group had increased its stake in companies within the Mosaic Pub and Dining Group to 24% through the acquisition of shares in Galaxy (City) Pub Company, Pioneer (City) Pub Company and Sovereign (City) Pub Company for a total cash consideration of approximately £1.18m.
Seven Bro7hers to open MediaCityUK beer house
Manchester-based Seven Bro7hers will opening a new beer house in the heart of the MediaCityUK development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford and Trafford.
Nestled between the BBC and popular branch of the Botanist, the bar will open its doors on Monday 17 May serving a selection of the brewery’s popular beers.
“We are so pleased to finally be launching our MediaCityUK space after months of waiting for covid restrictions to ease,” Seven Bro7hers CEO Keith McAvoy, said. “MediaCityUK is a fantastic location, especially in the Summer, so we can’t wait to kick off and be part of the buzz.”
The beer maker and operator currently runs two beer houses in Manchester, Middlewood Locks and Ancoats, as well as a bar out of its Salford taproom.
“We reopened our three sites when the restrictions first lifted in April, and we have been overwhelmed by the support from customers. It is fantastic after months of closures and restrictions to be back doing what we love – welcoming people into our family for a pint,” McAvoy added.
The brewery will also be launching its partnership bar in Manchester Airport’s new terminal two when it reopens as part of a 10-year deal.
Winchester Orangery in Salisbury expansion
According to reports by Insider Media, the Winchester Orangery is branching out into a new garden themed café/bar concept in a refurbished property in Salisbury city centre.
This follows the letting of the 647 sq ft former art supplies shop in in a deal brokered by property consultancy Myddelton & Major on a 20-year lease.
"The Winchester Orangery are expanding their existing operation to provide delicious breakfast, brunch and lunchtime food in this beautifully refurbished building in an idyllic city centre setting,” Myddelton & Major surveyor Gary Mead said.
"It shows that confidence will return to our city centre as lockdown eases. The Winchester Orangery has proved to be highly individual and hugely popular. We look forward to the Salisbury Orangery following suit."
Fishermann Pub Group opens third site following £550,000 joint investment
Hertfordshire-based Fishermann Pub Group is opening its second site with Star Pubs & Bars – the 17th century Grade II listed Rose & Crown at Welwyn – following a £550,000 joint refurbishment.
Fishermann now has three leased pubs and plans to take on further sites with development opportunities.
“We snapped up the Rose & Crown as soon as we saw it,” Fishermann co-founder Pete Mann said. “It's a beautiful village pub with fantastic potential. It fits our business model perfectly.
“We create traditional pubs that cater for every occasion and generate a continual supply of non-seasonal trade. We aim to tick all the boxes whether people want a morning coffee, a good meal out, a pint and a chat or to host a function.
“We’re delighted to have another pub with Star. They’re fantastic to work with; it's a real business partnership. Refurbishing The Rose & Crown was a major project involving in-depth liaison with the local planning department to ensure the character of the pub and barn were preserved. Star has been incredibly supportive throughout and made the whole process as pain-free as possible.”
Fishermann Pub Group is looking for more leased pubs in towns across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire.
Prospect Pubs & Bars earmarks four new sites
Former Redcomb Pubs owners Dan Shotton and Mark Draper have announced four new additions to their Prospect Pubs & Bars portfolio, according to reports by BigHospitality, with further expansion expected.
The pair, who sold Redcomb Pubs’ 15-strong bar and restaurant estate to Young’s back in 2019 for £34m, have taken on the Blue Ball in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, for their third Prospect Pubs & Bars site.
Another three sites have already been acquired for opening this year, with Shotton adding that the group plans to acquire five to seven sites per year from 2022 onwards.
The Blue Ball is currently undergoing a £250,000 revamp and will reopen on 24 May.
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