Punch Taverns is in the process of refurbishing a seventh site for its Champs sports bar brand as it continues to explore new formats.
Operations director David Wigham also told M&C the company would monitor the performance of its licensed café/deli concept Brewed & Baked before any decision was taken on rolling it out.
He said more sites would come on board for its community pub model Mighty Local but insisted “conversions take a long time and the introduction of the MRO has meant we have to look very careful at where and how we invest”.
Wigham said the company had just started work on the latest Champs, the Railway pub in Ainsdale, near Southport.
He said: “It’s been a big success in the existing locations. It’s a model where it is very clear which sites are going to suit that way of operating.”
On Brewed & Baked, which will open in East Lothian later this year, he said: “This was a case of deciding what was right for that pub. We haven’t made any decisions about that concept other than that it was right for that particular pub.”
