Haslam takes on fourth Enterprise pub

The TLC Group — run by award winning multiple lessee Steve Haslam — has taken on a temporary management contract for Enterprise Inns.

Haslam already runs two of Enterprise's busiest sites, the Cutter Inn, at Ely, Cambridgeshire and the White Horse at Ramsden Heath, Essex and recently opened a third — the Windmill in Peterbrough.

The White Horse in Haverhill, Suffolk has been run under temporary management for two years and Haslam has been bought in to identify why the pub has been trading below par.

He will be paying a rent of around £10,000 a year at the site, which has five letting rooms, with a view to increasing trade from £4,000 a week to £10,000 a week inside two months.

He estimates the rent at the pub on a long-term lease would be between £25-30,000 a year.

"We are taking a long term view on this pub, which is a much smaller site than we are used to. If we can make a decent return we could take it on on a longer term basis.

"But if we can't reach the heights then we will work with Enterprise to get the right person in. The pub needs stability."

Haslam said there would be a small joint investment in the property of around £50,000 to give it more "curb appeal".

In the past two years, a Harvester and a Prezzo have opened up nearby and affected trade at the pub .

The menu will be simplified at the White Horse. "What we will be bringing is an operational experience and a lot of TLC," said Haslam.

"It has five letting rooms and that is an area we are keen to get into."

TLC is also believed to be in discussions with another pubco about taking on a temporary management agreement.

Meanwhile, TLC's Windmill in Peterbrough, which opened in December following an £800,000 refurbishment, reported average takings of just under £30,000 in February. "Its been phenomenal," he said.