Longshot raises £30m to buy pubs

The former owners of the Groucho Club and London's first 24-hour restaurant have raised £30m to buy pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.

Longshot, founded in 1994 by Ollie Vigors and Joel Cadbury, sold its assests in June 2007, which included the 24-hour restaurant Vingt-Quatre, the Groucho Club and health club The Third Space, for around £50m.

Longshot is targeting leisure companies with an equity value of around £10m, high quality companies with underlying asset value or distressed aset opportunities.

It said it has held "early discussions" with a number of potential targets. "We are delighted that Longshot has raised over £30m in order to seek out acquisitions in the leisure sector," said Vigors.

"We believe that our background of successfully acquiring and developing companies, puts us in a unique position to create value for our shareholders."

Cadbury added: "We are very excited about the opportunities that we see in the leisure sector and are keen to acquire businesses that we believe we can successfully grow with entrepreneurial and innovative solutions."