The group, which operates three pubs, intends to build an estate of 10 sites in three years. It is also searching for its first head of operations, and has appointed a marketing manager and ‘pug trainer’ to oversee training and development.
Pinegar told M&C he and Crowther are looking at exploring finance options to expand quicker and are in talks with private equity groups as well as looking at crowdfunding.
The company has reached three sites without taking on any debt, but wants to bring in external finance to take the business to the next level.
Pug has country-village, town-centre and neighbourhood models that can be adapted to suit venues across Pug’s Midlands heartland.
“We have looked at regions we want to be in geographically and specific towns and cities we’re interested in,” Pinegar said. He added it was more important to find areas with the right demographic — into which it can slot its proven models.