Provence unveils managed concepts
Provence, the company that sells pub freeholds at auctions with a leaseback to itself, has created six new concepts for its managed division.
The company, which has raised an estimated £70m by auctioning pubs, launched a managed division in August after deciding licensees often lacked the capital or skills to run some of its pubs.
The company's managed house concepts are:
l The Waterside at Summer-seat, Lancashire: Provence says: "The Waterside is one
of a range of planned gastropubs, offering an ex-clusive upmarket brand catering for the more dis-cerning diner."
l Legends sports bars: "Lively sports bars where customers can enjoy all major televised sports events while sharing a few drinks with friends."
l Goldmine pubs: "Friendly local pubs offering value for money and a great atmosphere appealing to all age groups."
l Parmesan & Pepper Italian restaurants: "Combines quality Italian dining with a relaxed and welcoming pub ambience."
l Vogue: "A stylish and contemporary town venue with great music and vibrant party atmosphere."
l Symphony bar: "An impressive town-centre bar in the heart of Liverpool's student quarter. The Symphony bar specialises in providing quality food and drink for a cosmopolitan young crowd."
l Country Friends: "Country pubs in attractive locations offering a warm welcome and generous hospitality."
When Provence launched its managed division, founder Paul J Kiely said: "We will accept full commercial responsibility for operating all our sites on a managed basis.
"Clearly, this will require us to put our money where our mouth is - a challenge we are happy to accept. Failure is not an option for us and we will succeed."
provence on managed sites
"Within our portfolio there are sites, which, because of their size and position, can generate excellent returns under direct management. Often these sites have under-performed, because the previous leaseholders had insufficient capital to develop and promote the sites to their full potential or lacked the expertise to manage and promote them effectively.
"During 2006, a number of under-performing sites were identified as offering greater potential returns than they were delivering. A number of them were taken over and operated under management.The improvement in sales has been dramatic with the units now achieving sales in excess of three times the previous level. We have every confidence that sales will grow still further and, given our favourable supply deals, will convert successfully into bottom line profits,
particularly as realistic cost controls on labour and other expenditure are in place."
