UCL to rollout boutique hotels at expense of pubs

MA 250 member Urban & Country Leisure (UCL) plans to invest £20m over the next three years to rollout its Lazy Cow boutique hotel and restaurant concept.

The move follows a strategic review of the UCL estate, which currently comprises of 14 country pub restaurants across the UK.

UCL had originally planned to invest £15m to expand its country pub operation but now believes that sector will see a downturn in the coming year. It will instead refocus its acquisition targets on the rollout of the Lazy Cow hotel brand.

It is seeking sites in major cities and market towns including Bath, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Solihull, Newbury, Poole Lincoln and Henley On Thames.

Funding will come through private investment raised through its joint venture with Innventive Property Holdings, chaired by former investment banker Sir Aubrey Brocklebank.

Success​

UCL opened its first Lazy Cow in Warwick last November, following a £1.5m refurbishment. In the first nine weeks of trade, the hotel traded 97% above its weekly budget and £100,000 over its trading budget. Takings have been in excess of £50,000 a week.

"Whilst our expansion plans will be aggressive with the TLC brand, we will be following a much slower and more cautious acquisition policy for other country pub restaurants in the 2011/2012 trading period, focusing on more intense and detailed viability on the demographics," said UCL boss Ross Sanders.

"We predict a much slower growth in this sector based on the tough trading conditions, which we see continuing through until 2012. Increased VAT will have an impact on peoples leisure and hospitality spend, along with the 'ripple effect' of such things as fuel costs and travelling to out of town country pub destinations."

Strong support​

He added: "The country pub restaurants that will not suffer will be the one's who have a strong local community supporting them and those who are not dependant on travelling footfall and trade.

"We believe that the stronger performance will come from brands with a quality offering in town and city based locations."