The pubs - The Cricketers on the Green in Pirbright, The Kings Arms in Egham and The Duke of Cambridge in Tilford, near Farnham - will join the operator’s L&T division, with all three described as well-established sites with strong food offers and community ties.
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Grosvenor disposals
The move follows disposals by Grosvenor, including a portfolio sale to Various Eateries as part of its expansion into premium pubs with rooms.
Two of the sites will be operated by existing Brakspear business owners. Manu Bhatt, who runs The Running Horses in Surrey and The Leicester Arms in Kent, will take on The Cricketers on the Green, while Will Buck, operator of The George Inn near Bedford, will take on The Kings Arms.
At The Duke of Cambridge, current general manager Paul Grieve will step into the role of business owner.
The Cricketers on the Green will close for a four-week refurbishment ahead of the summer trading period.
‘Great additions’
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said: “These beautiful and popular pubs are a great addition to our existing L&T estate. We’re delighted to have secured all three, and look forward to working with our talented operators to build on their current trading and create exceptional pubs.
“We are also delighted to be placing two of the new pubs with Will and Manu, who are taking on their second and third Brakspear pub respectively. This gives them scale to develop their offer across several sites, as they build their own multiple-site businesses with our support.”
Davies added the group remained acquisitive across both its leased and tenanted and managed divisions.
“We are continually looking for pubs to add to both our L&T estate and Honeycomb Houses managed estate. Despite the challenges our industry continues to face, we are confident that, with the right sites and the right operators, we can build more successful pub businesses,” he said.
The acquisition builds on Brakspear’s wider growth strategy, having also expanded its Honeycomb Houses managed estate through acquisitions in the Cotswolds last year.
