Second site for Southwark licensee

He also said he was looking for a third venue.

Banks told M&C​ he always wanted to open three pubs and is considering London or Norwich for a third site.

The Grove will emulate the gourmet burger menu that has proven popular at the Lord Nelson pub in Southwark where Banks said visitors come from around the world to try the menu.

The Grove will be a similar model to the Lord Nelson with street art, hand painted walls and collages in an eclectic style.

Banks has turned the pub from a sports bar with pool tables into the eclectic style, which he said has attracted a new cliental by broadening the appeal to be more “family and female-friendly”.

“Burgers at the Lord Nelson are really well-established and people come from around the world to book tables and we have brought that to the Grove,” Banks said.

He added he did not want to run more than three pubs as he wants to give each venue the attention it deserves.

Having run the Lord Nelson for six years, Banks is looking to move more quickly for the third acquisition to give existing staff the opportunity to run their own pub.

Finance for the deal arranged by specialist commercial finance broker, Christie Finance.

Finance consultant Matthew Kavanagh assisted Banks to arrange the specialist funding for the leasehold acquisition plus additional finance to refurbish the property.

Kavanagh said: “I am delighted that we were able to secure the funding to enable our client to acquire The Grove Pub, plus arrange the supplementary funding to support our clients plans for the business. The pub is in a prime location and with Jim’s expertise I am sure the business will flourish.”

He said: “We are currently seeing a positive trend in banks appetite to lend to experienced operators that have successfully traded through the recession, and have considerable experience in the sector.