News
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31 January 12 New appointment for Brakspear Close
New appointment for Brakspear
Brakspear has appointed Gerard Winder as a business development manager, with responsibility for the company's tenanted pubs in and around its Henley-on-Thames heartland.
Winder joins from Greene King, where he was a BDM for four years. Previously, he worked for Scottish & Newcastle, initially as an acquisitions manager before moving into operations. In both 2008 and 2010, Winder reached the finals of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers' Business Development Manager of the Year Award.
Winder joins Brakspear to replace Peter Capon, who has retired after seven years with the company. Capon was previously with Greene King and before that with Morlands, where he became a BDM after a successful career as a pub tenant, running three pubs in Oxfordshire. He and wife Anita were named BII Licensees of the Year in 1988, for their sterling work at The Tandem in Kennington, Oxford.
Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, says, "We'll miss Peter's many years of experience in the industry, but wish him a happy retirement. We are delighted to welcome Gerard, who is taking on the Henley-on-Thames patch at a busy time, with several pubs undergoing refurbishments in the next couple of months."
Brakspear owns great pubs to rent, tenancies, leases, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and other parts of the south-east and south Midlands.
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19 January 12 £500,000 investment for Brakspear pubs Open
£500,000 investment for Brakspear pubs
Two Brakspear pubs are undergoing major refurbishments at a total cost of over £500,000. The Crown at Playhatch has closed for a complete redevelopment and will reopen in late February, while The White Hart at Nettlebed is opening seven new bedrooms.
The Crown, one of Brakspear's most successful food pubs, is being redesigned throughout. The result will be a more open, airy pub-restaurant with additional tables for diners and a resited, larger bar area. Outside, the pub's attractive garden and patio areas are being re-landscaped to create more space for al fresco dining. All 10 bedrooms are also being completely refurbished.
The Barn Room, a characterful space already in demand for wedding receptions and other functions, is being redecorated for the key spring and summer period. A new entrance into the pub will lead guests straight into the new bar area, while the kitchen is being completely refitted with high-spec equipment. .
Both The Crown and The White Hart are run by The Tailor Made Dining Company owned by Ted Docherty and Dion Korving. Docherty said, "The redevelopment of The Crown effectively brings this 16th century inn into the 21st century, but without losing its traditional pub character. We're looking forward to welcoming more guests to drink and dine with us and hope that finally, we get a proper summer so that they can enjoy our wonderful new outdoor space, which we have more than doubled in size."
Developments at The White Hart in Nettlebed mark the second phase of this pub's transformation, following a £250,000 investment in April last year. The focus this time is on accommodation, with the addition of six new bedrooms and one new 'honeymoon suite' comprising luxury bedroom, lounge and en-suite bathroom. The new rooms have been created in a house adjoining the pub and bring to 19 the total number of letting rooms at the site.
Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, said, "These are challenging times for pubs, but we're confident that our investment in both these very successful sites will be worthwhile. Talented tenants like Ted and Dion are managing to grow trade, despite the downturn, by offering customers the 'pub essentials' of great food and drink, consistently high standards and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere."
Brakspear owns great pubs to rent, tenancies, leases, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and other parts of the south-east and south Midlands.
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9 December 11 Brakspear reaps rewards from capital investment Open
Brakspear reaps rewards from capital investment
Brakspear is enjoying increasing levels of trade from its London pubs after a £500,000 investment in its estate in the capital over the past 18 months.
Although the company is best-known for its quality food-led pubs in and around Henley-on-Thames, Brakspear has a sizeable London estate: 25 of its pubs lie within the M25, including a handful in fashionable locations such as Shoreditch and Clerkenwell.
Chief executive Tom Davies says, "With the Olympic Games under 12 months away, we're confident our investment in our London estate will help Brakspear pubs capture a share of the estimated five million additional visitors to the city over the duration of the games next summer."
In its London developments, Brakspear has worked with small multiple operators, including Fiveeightzero and The Proper Little Pubco, as well as talented chefs. Similar partnerships elsewhere in the Brakspear estate have resulted in some real successes, such as Orwells, the gastropub near Henley taken on by Michelin starred chef Ryan Simpson, The Stoneham Pub & Pizzeria in Brighton run by Martin Webb and three sites in Oxfordshire with Tailor Made Steaks.
Pubs in London to have benefited from investment include:
The Bowler Pub & Kitchen, Clerkenwell: Tenant Lee Curtis trained at Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen' restaurant before opening The Bowler in 2011. Food is freshly prepared from ingredients sourced as locally as possible, and the pub is targeting business customers with a range of pub classics and an 'express lunch' for £5.
The Owl & Pussycat, Shoreditch: After a major refurbishment in autumn 2010, this pub on the edge of the City reopened with new tenants Fiveeightzero. The downstairs bar buzzes with after-work drinkers, whose thirst has made the pub one of Brakspear's highest barrelage sites. An upstairs room offers more formal dining.
The Albert, Southwark: The pub reopened in summer 2011 after a £70,000 refurbishment including new kitchen and new decor inside and out. New tenants The Proper Little Pubco are targeting a slightly older clientele: classical music, good traditional pub food, emphatically no machines and a quality, 'home from home' pub experience.
Davies said, "Sales in our London sites have held better than elsewhere through the recession, as customers here continue to eat out and indeed 'trade down' from high end restaurants to quality food-led pubs such as ours. We're seeing a healthy uplift in sales at our recent investment sites in London and look forward to seeing this growth continue into 2012."
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28 November 11 Brakspear pub ready for Olympic flame Open
Brakspear pub ready for Olympic flame
Brakspear pub The Pembroke Arms in Fovant near Salisbury is set to welcome the Olympic Torch bearers next year when Fovant, a village of just 680 residents, will be one of the smallest stops on the route.
The relay will pass through Fovant on 12th July next year. Tenant Anthony Marshall has already been interviewed for BBC South Today and is hopeful the crew will return next summer. He said, "Fovant's an interesting stop on the Olympic Torch route: as well as being the smallest stop, it is also one of the only places in the country that was also a stopping point for the Olympic relay when the UK last hosted the games in 1948.
"We don't yet know who will be carrying the Olympic flame through Fovant - though of course we've got our fingers crossed for Jessica Ennis! Whoever it is, we'll make sure they receive a champions' welcome at The Pembroke and we're putting plans in place now for this once-in-a-lifetime event for the village."
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11 October 11 Brakspear tenant completes Highland Challenge Open
Brakspear tenant completes Highland Challenge
John Riddell, tenant of Brakspear pub The Fat Fox Inn, Watlington, tested his fitness to the full recently by completing the Invesco Perpetual Highland Challenge - a gruelling combination of 44-milecycle ride, 5-mile canoe paddle and a run up Ben Nevis all carried out in two days in Scotland.
John and his team of five co-participants including supporters, also from Watlington, raised money for the Mitchemp Trust, a charity which aims to help young vulnerable adults from rural areas. Through the generous sponsorship from clients, family and friends including activities in the pub such as raffles and a 'guess the finishing time' challenge, the team raised £5890 and overall the event raised £135,000.
After the event, John said, "Taking part in this challenge was an amazing experience - physically and mentally demanding, but also enormously satisfying. We're extremely grateful to everyone at the pub who supported us and who donated so generously. Our thanks also to our colleague Jonny, who climbed the Ben with us, and his father Malcolm who drove our van and supported us throughout." The team completed the race in 12 hours, 24 minutes, coming seventh out of the 37 teams to finish the course.
The Mitchemp Trust is a cause close to John's heart, as he explained, "I grew up in Canada and spent several summers at camps with other young people, some of them from troubled backgrounds. So I've seen firsthand how this 'adventure training' experience can build confidence, self-esteem and pride in oneself. For some of the guys I spent my summers with, these key building blocks in life were simply not available at home or school."
The Highland Challenge is unique as a fundraising event as the cost of the activities is completely underwritten by Invesco Perpetual, so all funds raised go to the Trust.
Caption to image: (l-r) Justin Gaze, John Riddell, Malcolm Vaughan, Jonny Vaughan, Kristian Overend & Murray Bishop
Brakspear offers pubs for rent or lease, many of them in Henley or Oxfordshire.
For further information on any of the above news stories, or to obtain a high-resolution image, please contact our PR consultant Ros Shiel on
07841 694137 or ros@shielcomms.co.uk.