Camerons, the Hartlepool-based brewer and pub operator, will open five or six pubs annually for the next five years as it grows both its Head of Steam and Blue Lounge brands.

The group, which acquired seven Head of Steam pubs last year, has announced it will open more Yorkshire locations including Harrogate and York after adding the former Spencers in Mill Hill, Leeds, to its estate.

Director Christopher Soley said the brewer and pub operator would focus of geography it “can control” as it moves outward from its traditional north east heartland.

He said the company would consider opportunities to grow the brands with a multi-pub acquisition as it continues to look for new ways to expand.