Castle Rock Brewery to raise £600,000 to develop pub

An award-winning Nottingham brewery is looking to raise £600,000 via an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) in order to buy a run-down working men's club and transform it into a high spec pub.

The Castle Rock Brewery, which owns and operates more than 20 sites in the East Midlands and whose Harvest Pale ale won the gold prize in the Champion beer of Britain category at the recent Great British Beer Festival, is planning to establish a limited company which will offer 120 shares at £5,000 each to raise the money necessary to buy and develop the un-named site.

The brewer's chairman, Chris Holmes, said the group had secured a 30 year lease on the club, formerly a British Legion venue, whose only chance for survival "is if it is converted into a pub that is open to the whole community".

Holmes said he hoped work on the pub would commence within six weeks and be completed in time for a planned opening in May next year.

The development would be "community friendly, female friendly, foody and a pub as well", he added, and would include meeting and function facilities, as well as parking for nearly 70 cars.

Investors would see yields on their investment of between 11 and 22 per cent, Holmes said, with forecasts and assumptions available to interested parties.

"We have had initial clearance from the tax authorities that the scheme will qualify for EIS relief which will give significant tax advantages to investors," he added.

Castle Rock said it had appointed RSM Tenon as its advisers on the scheme, which had produced an offer document and will handle all aspects of EIS. Investor monies will be held in escrow to give added protection, Holmes said.