Peach takes estate to 13 with Surrey pub

Pub operator Peach signs a deal to take over the Richard Onslow pub in Cranleigh, Surrey, boosting its estate to 13

Food-led pub operator Peach has signed a deal to take over the Richard Onslow pub in Cranleigh, Surrey, bringing its estate to 13.

The news comes following the opening of Peach's second Almanack pub in Leicester and as the company anticipates the opening of its 12th pub The Abingdon Arms in Thame tomorrow.

“It’s been a heady few weeks for everyone on the team as three exciting new ventures, so long in the planning – have finally been realised,” said Peach co-founder, Hamish Stoddart.

“We’re really pleased that our second Almanack has opened to a rapturous reception from the people of Leicester, and our first wet-led pub in Thame, just down the road from the food-led Thatch, has been similarly well received. Now, signing the deal to buy The Richard Onslow in the heart of Cranleigh is really the icing on the cake.”

The new pub, the first for joint venture partner John Taylor, will re-open in time for Christmas following a minor refit to the kitchen. There are also plans to turn space above the pub into seven letting bedrooms, which will be ready for use late next year.

Stoddart said Peach would be looking for more staff to fill front and back of house roles over the coming weeks as the company expanded.

Peach, formed by Stoddart and Lee Cash in 2002, was set up with the aim of putting 'a great gastropub in every market town in England'. The company plans to boost its estate to 22 over the next few years.