Hoggwards nets first pub in West Sussex

The company, called Hoggwards, has taken its first pub, a Hall & Woodhouse tenancy in Horsham, West Sussex, called the Boars Head.

Over the next two to three years, the company hopes to open up to 10 pubs across the southern Home Counties, where “the chef and his food define the offering”.

Hogg is the founder of Conquest Inns, which operated 61 tenanted pubs in London, East Anglia and the south-east of England, and was sold to Punch Taverns in 2003. Ward was a founder and director of the private equity-backed Marr Taverns and has operated bars and restaurants in southern England and Jersey.

The duo said a typical Hoggwards pub would “be a period building in a rural location”, with seats for 50 to 60 people in the bar and eating area, with a garden or terrace, adequate car parking and possibly letting bedrooms.

Hogg said: “We aim to attract and retain high-quality chefs who want to run their own pub but need business support at this stage of their career.