A group of CAMRA “nerds” have formed their own pub company and secured their first site through an Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Untied Pub Company Ltd has bought the freehold of the White Horse Inn, in the village of Tattingstone, on the border of Ipswich and Essex.
Steve Sakal, one of the six people behind the new company, said its intention was to “run pubs in the way they used to be run – the village boozer that was the hub of the community”. He said the company name had been deliberately chosen to mark the company out from the established pubcos.
He said work would now be undertaken to refurbish the pub, include moving the toilets from their current location in the car park.
The company has employed local publican Chris Wood to run the pub, with all staff coming from the village.
Sakal said: “We believe pubs should be the social centre of the village and that’s what we intend to do. We don’t really expect to make any money out of it but as long as we don’t go bankrupt we will be happy. I would like to do more – probably in the same kind of area. There are lots of communities that would welcome something like this. If we can prove a success with this one then we can secure more EIS funding.”
The pub was sold off an asking price of £265,000. The sale was handled by specialist licensed business agents Simon Jackaman Associates.
Jackaman said: “During 2014, we have seen a growing confidence in the license market which was severely hit during the downturn in 2008. However, my company has been involved in a growing number of successful sales that includes pubs, restaurants and hotels which we expect to see more of as the market continues to recover.”
