Titanic Brewery is working with Punch’s former central operations director Andy Slee as it looks to double it pub estate in the next five years, M&C understands.
Managing director Keith Bott told M&C that the company now has the systems and the personnel in place to carry out its plan of growing from its nine-strong estate to 20 by the end of 2020.
The plan is being funded by a refinancing last year, with the first part of the funds being spent on improving the brewery. Bott said the focus was now on the pub estate.
Last year the company appointed former Punch executive Alan Hurt as its retail director.
Bott said: “With Alan on board and Andy helping us we’re confident we can meet that target. We have our academy if you like in the existing pubs so we know we have the managers for those future openings already identified. It means that when we find the right pubs we can act and grow quickly.
Asked if bulk deals would be the key to growth, Bott said: “Much as you can have a nice quick win with a group acquisition, we have a very clear idea of what we like and there’s a very simple rule that myself and my brother have to agree – that rules out a good chunk of sites. To try to do that with a group would be difficult.
“It has to fit our model. We don’t have the expertise in pubs so we there’s no point in us taking on gastro pubs. We are good at community pubs and that’s what we are looking for.
“We describe our target geography as the Radio Stoke area, which covers quite a large patch including a chunk of Cheshire and a chunk of Derbyshire as well as the whole of Staffordshire. We know the people in those areas will know us and understand what we’re about.”
