North East bar group to double estate

North East pubco Centro Pub Company is to plough nearly £4m into doubling its estate of bars.

The group, which has been trading for five years and currently operates four venues, plans to open another five in the near future.

Its expansion strategy has been bolstered by almost £4m of new funding through Bank of Scotland Corporate.

Two of the new bars are in Durham, with Centro taking over and refurbishing the existing 'Jimmy Allen's' and also renovating a derelict site in the city, formerly an old reform school on North Road.

An existing 1,000-capacity bar in Sunderland has been acquired and is currently being refurbished, due to open in the summer.

Centro currently employs around 70 staff and forecasts its turnover will hit £7m in 2007/8.

In a statement the group said once its expansion plans are in place turnover should top £10m. It did not comment on current profitability.

Since the company commenced trading it has purchased and developed six bars and of the original six, the company sold Bar 55 and Sam Jacks in Newcastle in December 2005.

Alan Newton, director of the Centro Pub Company, said: "We have already made considerable progress in the past four years and are now looking to take our expansion plans a stage further."