City Pub Company acquires three pubs as part of plan to operate 20 by 2014
The London-based firm has appointed Alex Derrick and Rupert Clark, two former Capital Pubs directors, to head up the two divisions of the rapidly-expanding company. Derrick, previously operations director of the Capital Pub Company, and Clark, previously operations manager of the Capital Pub Company, will become chief executive of City Pub Company East and chief executive of City Pub Company West respectively.
At the same time as announcing the appointments, Clive Watson, co-founder and group chief executive, confirmed the company had completed the acquisition of two pubs in London and a third in Bath.
The Lighthouse in Battersea, The Roundhouse in Wandsworth and The Metropolitan in Bath join the now 11-strong group of pubs alongside The Phene in Chelsea which was acquired last month and now acts as the company HQ.
"The appointment of Alex and Rupert is a huge plus for the City Pub Company and I am delighted that they have come on board to work alongside me," Watson said. "They are very experienced pub retailers and their appointments to their respective companies will give them focus to develop and expand these.
"They both understand the entrepreneurial culture required of running and developing a small pub chain of independent free houses. Their appointment will allow me to focus more time on finding new premium sites across Southern England and obtaining further investment to finance our future expansion."
EIS-funded expansion
The City Pub Company was co-founded by Watson and David Bruce, the original founders and owners of the Capital Pub Company, who were joined in December 2011 by former Fuller's MD John Roberts.
Watson today revealed that the company, which aims to operate 20 pubs by 2014, had already raised £9.6m of the £10m it has pledged to find through two Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) projects. The fundraising is set to be finalised 'imminently' and Watson revealed he would be looking to raise a further £10m at the beginning of 2014 to further support expansion of the company's estate.
"Our EIS fundraising has been very successful and gives us the confidence and financial backing to continue acquiring fantastic pubs, such as the ones announced today," he said.
Derrick and Clark will now take over the day-to-day running of the operator while Watson concentrates on further growth plans.
"Their appointment will allow me to focus more time on finding new premium sites across southern England and obtaining further investment to finance our future expansion," he concluded.
