Orchid groups pubs in seven segments
The Orchid Group, the managed operator backed by private equity firm GI Partners, is to divide its estate into seven major segments.
The company, which bought 290 former Spirit pubs and a group of former Noble House restaurants for about £591m earlier this year, is to invest approximately £57m in its properties. It believes the investment will lift per-annum earnings by at least £20m in the next three years from the current figure of about £60m.
Nearly two-thirds of the estate - 160 sites - will be food-led after investment,with four key segments: Contemporary Dining (15 pubs competing in the upmarket niche alongside Mitchells and Butlers' Project S venues); Dragon (pan-Asian food in a pub setting, inherited from Noble House, with 30 venues); Contemporary Carvery (a modern take on the carvery with a target of 55 sites) and Mid Market Dining (a target of 60 venues including debranded Two For One sites).
The wet-led side includes: Modern British Local (40 sites offering a quality British refuelling menu); Independent Locals (encompassing 60 venues including former Q's and John Barras sites), while Urban Play (22 sites including the 16 Bar Room Bars) is on the market with final offers invited before Christmas.
Orchid managing director Rufus Hall said: "This is one of the best freehold estates to have come on the market in recent times.
"A lot of our pubs are landmark sites. Every pub will see investment in the next three years - earnings at these sites have dropped by about £10m a year over the past three years."
