Brakspear to re-open Stow-on-the-Wold pub as second managed site

Brakspear acquired the Royalist last July and appointed an interim tenant to run the venue while a decision was made about the long-term future of the venue. 

Managed success​

The Grade II-listed pub, which also features 14 bedrooms, was closed earlier this month and will be re-opened in September as only the second managed pub in Brakspear's portfolio of around 140 mainly tenanted and leased sites.

"We purchased the Royalist for its outstanding location and rich heritage and are looking forward to developing the site in a way that will maximise its potential," said Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive.

Davies made the decision to turn the pub into a managed venue following the success of the Oxfordshire-based company's first managed site - the Bull on Bell Street in Henley-on-Thames.​

“The decision to manage this site ourselves is a relatively recent one, inspired in large part by our experience at the Bull on Bell Street, the pub we opened in Henley-on-Thames in March. The Bull is trading extremely well and we’ve learned a lot about how to successfully operate a managed pub alongside our tenanted sites," he added.

Master plan​

Davies, who joined the family firm three years ago, first revealed Brakspear was looking at the option of managing some of its sites in a video interview with BigHospitality last year:

At the time, the publican admitted the 'fashion' in the industry was returning to managed but today Davies said there was no strategy for opening more pubs without tenants or leaseholders.

"There is no master plan to grow our managed estate in terms of size or timescale and we are making decisions on a site by site basis," he explained.

The Royalist Stow-on-the-Wold is reputed to be England’s oldest inn - parts of the building date back to the 10th century.