Coaching Inn Group
The current decade has seen Coaching Inn Group double in size to 36 sites, with the main focus, as the name suggests, on large rooms businesses in the centres of market town.
An ongoing cycle of major site investments has seen the company bring added wow factor to guest accommodation while reconfiguring public areas to make better use of space, such as turning little-used function rooms into bustling high-footfall coffee shops and restaurants.
While accommodation is at the core of the company’s offer, Coaching Inn Group has embarked on a mission in recent years to raise standards in food and drink, putting its pubs at heart of the local community, as well as increasing revenue from those who are just staying for the weekend or passing through on business.
Both the rooms and F&B elements are delivered to exacting service standards that aim to fulfil the group’s promise to give guests “hospitality from the heart”.
ETM Group
Last year marked a quarter of a century in the business for the central London operation founded by brothers Ed and Tom Martin. Its first focus was on top-grade gastropubs, and it still has eight sites that fit that bill today.
But it’s since expanded its horizons, and the estate now also include six sports bars with a premium sheen, serving freshly cooked, top-quality food and catering to more niche sporting tastes, alongside the big-hitting events such as the Champions League and Six Nations.
ETM has further diversified with three rooftop bars-restaurants that offer luxury dining and drinking experiences in spectacular surroundings.
Marketing is a strong suit for ETM, with innovative partnerships that drive footfall. Its sports bars are the official hospitality partner of the NFL in London, while a link-up with Mixmag last summer saw revellers partying to big-name DJs at The Wagtail rooftop in the City, a panoramic skyline, taking in St Paul’s, The Shard and the Post Office Tower.
Parogon Group
Parogon operates nine pubs and three restaurants across a tight geographic footprint in rural Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire. Its mission is to reinvigorate pubs which hold fond memories for locals but which have seen better days, offering premium yet accessibly priced dining experiences.
That’s about as close as Parogon comes to having a formula, however, with each site having its own distinct personality: The Swan With Two Necks at Blackbrook is a plush destination gastropub; The Block House at Whitmore has a more rustic feel with a smokehouse-grill food offer; and the Broughton, near Crewe, is a glitzy high-investment refurb which has transplanted West End restaurant-cocktail bar décor into a rural English location.
Environmental concerns are high on Parogon’s agenda and its B Corp status means that the majority of food served in its pubs is sourced from within a few miles of head office.
St Austell Brewery
St Austell chalks up 175 years in business in 2026 but has demonstrated more youthful agility into recent times to tackle the challenges of tricky geography and a challenging regional economy.
Its 45 managed houses are spread across the expanse of Devon and Cornwall and the company has invested heavily and consistently in both the sites and their teams in recent times in a bid to maximise the appeal of its pubs to both tourists and the local communities in which they sit.
Refurbs have brought a modern flourish to traditional pub sites without sacrificing their personality, while investment in a talent pipeline centred around clear career pathways has shifted the emphasis from seasonal to permanent employment opportunities for local people.
The food offering is constantly evolving, with a central resource of menu and recipe development providing a base for chefs to adapt to give pubs their own character, while the drinks line-up builds on the brewery’s own excellent beer range with premium wines and spirits.
Upham Inns
The past 12 months have been transformational for Upham, with the acquisition of 14 former Oakman Inns pubs doubling the size of its estate and expanding its geographical scope northwards into the Midlands, from its heartland in southern England.
The company has made rapid progress in operational, training and cultural integration, taking the best elements from both Upham and Oakman worlds.
It’s also set about upgrading the room offer at the two acquired Oakman pubs that have accommodation, to bring them into line with Upham’s own high standards.
Guest stays have been at the heart of Upham’s growth plan in recent years, elevating its consumer offer to become one of the UK’s leading premium pubs with rooms operators.
This positioning is backed by a high-quality food and drink proposition that encourages higher spends from staying guests while ensuring its pubs are popular destinations for local people.
