29/05/2024 09:48:00
September 2024 will see the opening of The Blue Stoops, a new pub on Kensington Church Street from the team behind the Allsopp's Brewery, advises Pub & Bar. Founder Jamie Allsopp is partnering with Charlie McVeigh, founder of The Draft House group of craft beer pubs, during the building and launch of the new site. The pub will pay homage to the original Blue Stoops in Burton-upon-Trent, where Allsopp's family brewed from 1730. Samuel Allsopp, Jamie's seven times great-grandfather, is revered as the inventor of the India Pale Ale style, which he first brewed in a teapot in 1822. "It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to revive my family's lost beers and I'm delighted to open our first pub in 90 years," says Allsopp.
Nightcap has announced its ambitions of becoming the UK's leading bar group by creating a £3.5m war chest to take advantage of acquisition opportunities. The Sarah Willingham-led business that owns and operates 46 bars including brands such as The Cocktail Club, Barrio Familia and The Piano Works, has proposed the issue of 70m new ordinary shares to raise the money and has already raised £750k through the issue of 15m 'subscription shares'. Morning Advertiser says that the company's board believes its strategy of raising capital incrementally to satisfy each of its acquisitions, such as The Piano Works and Dirty Martini, has been appropriate for its acquisitions to date. However, to execute the company's ambition of creating the UK's leading bar group, it wants to strengthen its balance sheet, which will, among other things, enable it to be well positioned strategically when future consolidation opportunities arise.
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has announced the acquisition of 10-strong Italian small plates business Pesto Restaurants. Pesto founders Sara and Neil Gatt will continue to manage the business, which is predominantly based in the north west and Midlands, for an 18-month period to help M&B identify and covert sites to the Pesto brand. The consideration for the business will be determined over two payments and is partly contingent on its future performance but will be no more than £15m, reports the Restaurant.
A Yorkshire-based pub group has added The Stapylton Arms in Wass to its portfolio. Crazy Rabbit Inns says it plans to now invest in the gastropub to enhance its facilities and undertake a sympathetic refurbishment. The acquisition was supported with £416,000 funding from Fresh Thinking Capital in a move that secures the future of the historic pub, advises Pub & Bar. Crazy Rabbit Inns now operates three pubs across the county, with plans to open a fourth this year.
The pub in Windsor Road, Penarth, was formerly run by JD Wetherspoons, which announced its sudden closure in March when it decided not to renew the lease on the venue. Croeso Pubs has stepped in to take over the lease and will reopen The Bear's Head's doors in early July. Hospitality & Catering News reports that the Bear's Head is the second 'community pub' for Croeso pubs - in December last year it refurbished The Discovery in Lakeside, Cardiff following a £400,000 investment. In the past few months, it has also extended the Blue Bell in Cardiff's city centre - moving into the former Brew Monster bar next door. And in January 2023, it also acquired the lease for The Dock in Cardiff Bay.
Revolution Bars Group has said that a bid for the business received from Nightcap is "incapable of being delivered". The group, which is behind the Revolución de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands, launched a formal sale process in April alongside a restructuring plan that included raising £12.5m, reports The Caterer. In early May Revolution Bars Group said it was in talks with Nightcap over a possible deal, before claiming in was in talks with 32 potential buyers. In an update the group said it had held an "exploratory meeting with Nightcap plc regarding a range of possible transactions", followed by a number of follow-up calls, but that "following legal advice, the board has concluded that the Nightcap proposal is incapable of being delivered".
An order to extend licensing hours during the Euros, has passed through the House of Lords and is ready for royal assent, reports Caterer Licensee Hotelier News. The order to the Licensing Act 2003 (UEFA European Football Championship Licensing Hours) will extend sales of alcohol if either England or Scotland reach the semi-final or the final of the Euros.