Gerry Martin takes on 2nd London pub

Pub entrepreneur Gerry Martin has taken on a second central London pub five months after opening the Springbok sports bar in Covent Garden. Martin has bought back an Old Monk site in Lehman Street from the company he formerly ran before it went into administration just over 18 months ago. The new pub has been bought by Martin's Springbok Bars. The company, has, however, off-loaded the Springbok Bar in Cardiff, one of two venues it operated in the Welsh capital. Because of its location, the new London outlet will come under the administrative control of Bush Pig, the company that runs the 550-capacity Springbok Bar in Covent Garden. "Its all a bit complicated and seems a bit like playing musical chairs, but when we got the chance to take back the Old Monk in Lehman Street we jumped at it because the administrator had failed to sell and nine months' rent free was part of an excellent deal for us," said Martin, brother of JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin. "We've been shuffling outlets around and its all been a bit hectic, but we have had to strike when the opportunities presented themselves," he explained. Martin opened his Covent Garden venue via his newly-formed Bush Pig Inns last November in a move backed by a quartet of sports stars ­ rugby union's Lawrence Dallaglio and Jason Leonard and Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood from the world of golf.