Faucet Inn is to abandon expansion of its Neighbourhood concept to concentrate on a rollout of its KuPP casual dining model and Babel cocktail bar formats, MCA has learnt.
The group currently operates two sites under the model – in Stratford City and Southampton – but having failed to secure the trademark for the brand, all sites in its pipeline will now be considered for the other two growth brands.
Founder Steve Cox told MCA that despite a series of disposals pubs still form a key part of the Faucet Inn growth strategy and said he was currently negotiating on two packages of pubs.
He said he was also in advanced discussions about a partnership with a nationwide retailer.
Babel, in Clapham Junction, was Cox’s first venture into hospitality and he told MCA that although work was underway for an iteration of the concept in Cheltenham, the second Babel would be in the Akker Brygge area of Norwegian capital, Oslo, where the group is also opening a KuPP.
The Babel in Essex and a KuPP in Oxford are set to open in October. Cox told MCA that a site has also been secured for a Bale in Norwich as well as a KuPP in Leeds.
Meanwhile, the group is leasing out the ground floor of its George Inn site in Andover, Hampshire, having recently secured planning permission for other parts of the building, which it has owned for the past three years.
Davis Coffer Lyons is marketing the 2,500 sq ft space, which is on a free-of-tie lease with a rental guide of offers in excess of £40,000 per annum.
On Faucet’s approach to pubs, Cox said: “Pubs are still very dear to our heart. Some of the pubs we have sold we have traded for 15 years and it was time for someone to have a good go. But we do feel we have disposed of pretty much everything we wanted to and now we’re keen to grow again.
“There’s more of a concentration on KuPP and Babel. We are realising some of the proceeds of pub sales for that expansion.”
