Adrian Staley, managing director of Oxfordshire-based brewer and pub operator Hook Norton has told M&C Report the company has secured its first managed site and is actively seeking further acquisitions.
The company is set to re-open The Fox Hotel in Chipping Norton, re-branded as simply The Fox, in September, after a significant refurbishment.
Staley said the company had the funds in place for at least another three over the next few years.
He said there were few opportunities within the 39-strong tenanted estate to transfer pubs into the managed and so disposals would continue.
Instead growth is likely to come from fresh acquisitions, with the company targeting “quality market town sites” with a 50 to 80 mile drive of the brewery, close to Banbury.
Target areas include: Oxford, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Northampton, Marlow, Henley and Bicester.
The Fox has ten bedrooms and Staley said accommodation would be a key consideration in the growth of the managed estate.
Staley said he had been conscious to ensure a full managed house structure was in place before targeting an acquisition.
He said: “We had to implement everything from the till system to the training manual and we wanted to make sure it was absolutely right.
“It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity – it’s going to be a shop window for us. Having rooms in such a fantastic location should be a good driver of sales and there is footfall throughout the day.”
Staley stressed that the company would also look at further acquisitions for the tenanted estate and would continue to work with tenants to drive business but admitted the portfolio would shrink.
