Bar Sport, the sports-focused franchise bar brand led by Scott Murray, is to open its sixth site in Newbury, Berkshire, on 21 November, and is aiming for four more before next summer’s football World Cup kicks off, M&C Report has learnt.
Franchisees are signed up for Livingston, West Lothian; Watford, Hertfordshire; Staines, Surrey; Birmingham; Nottingham and Reading, Berkshire.
Murray said he had become “more realistic” about the company’s pace of growth. “We have had problems in the past choosing the right franchisees, but we believe we’ve got it right by making it tougher. It’s a real assault course now.
“We’re getting five or six enquiries a day from people who want to run a Bar Sport, but the vast majority don’t come through. They need £100,000 in liquid cash and a passion to do it.
“What’s slowing us down now is finding the right sites and the legals. We’re looking at existing pubs that have closed, or are about to close, because they’ll have the basics we need and we only have to do the refurb.”
As part of the franchise deal, franchisees are trained from scratch - Bar Sport has recently appointed CPL Training to do the job. Once the site is found in their nominated area they pay for the fit-out and essentially take ownership of the business running it according to an operations manual. They are free of any tie, but can purchase discounted supplies on the back of the chain’s buying power. Bar Sport takes 5% of the gross turnover.
“This is very different different from a pub tenancy,” said Murray. “We believe we’re the only genuine bar franchise in the UK.”
Formerly a Bramwell Pub Company pub called the George & Pelican, the Newbury Bar Sport will be run by franchisee Claudio Altini, who used to be an accountant with KPMG.
In September, Bar Sport in Cannock, Staffordshire, was named Best Sports Pub in the 2013 Great British Pub Awards.
