Barons looking to grow to 15 pubs

Barons Pub Company is looking to add another five sites to its estate over the next five to 10 years, MCA’s sister title The Morning Advertiser has reported.

The Surrey-based pubco currently has 10 sites, after making several acquisitions over the past year following a £2.8m loan from HSBC.

It acquired the freehold interest in The Inn at West End – its first site with rooms; and the freehold for the Jovial Sailor in Ripley, Surrey. It has also acquired a short leasehold for Heather FARM Café – previously Water’s Edge Café, in Horsell Common.

Clive Price, managing director, Barons Pub Company, told The Morning Advertiser the business was looking to achieve “nice and steady expansion”.

“Our medium target is 15 sites in total and to add another five sites or so will take us between five and 10 years,” he said.

Growth has been organic until this point, but Price said the company was trying to find good sites, with freehold being favourable.

Barons Pub Company saw turnover increased by more than 12%, from £11.5m to £12.9m for the 12 months to 30 September 2018. Profit about tax amounted to £350k, up from £325k in 2017, according to its latest accounts filed at Companies House.

According to the accounts Price said as a result of spending on acquisitions, refurbs and costs related to openings, Barons had a short-term lack of cash which is being managed closely, and a period of consolidation is required to allow the three new sites to bed in and cash reserves to recover.