Columbo Group, the London-based pub and club operator, is eyeing growth both in the capital and in the north of England.
Steve Ball, director and co-founder of the currently seven-strong company, told M&C Report that expansion will be centred around more clubs and a rollout of its Blues Kitchen concept.
Columbo currently operates three pubs but Ball insisted that he did plan to open more.
He said: “I think there’s a limit to how many pubs you can do before they lose their X-Factor, that closeness we have with the community and that independence that shines through in a good pub. That isn’t something that is replicable. Because we want to be proud of them, we don’t want to do any more pubs.”
He added: “Expansion will be gradual – we hope to open one or two sites this year and one or two next year. This year we are looking at staying in London - hopefully getting something in south London and next year we want to look to a major northern city – probably either Manchester or Liverpool.”
