PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Metropolitan Pub Company and Tommy Banks expand estate

04-May-2023 - Last updated on 04-May-2023 at 09:03 GMT

Growing estate: Metropolitan Pub Company and Tommy Banks launch new pubs

St Austell has taken on a new site while the Tommy Banks Group and Metropolitan Pub Company are planning to launch venues.

St Austell takes on quayside pub

South West pubco St Austell Brewery has taken ownership of the Crabshell Inn, Devon.

The waterfront site, which is situated on the quayside overlooking the Kingsbridge estuary in the South Hams, brings the total number of pubs in St Austell Brewery’s managed estate to 41.

St Austell Brewery chief operating officer Andrew Turner said: “The Crabshell is a fantastic addition to our managed estate and a great fit for us.

“It’s a family-friendly destination which is right on the water’s edge, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. It’s the perfect place to relax, enjoy quality food and drink, and watch the bustle of the boats on the estuary.

“Its south westerly aspect basks in the sun all day too. We are looking forward welcoming our guests at the Crabshell for a fantastic St Austell Brewery experience throughout the summer months and beyond.”

He added that Simon and Sonja Harrow, who had run the site for more than 13 years, had built a successful business that was popular to tourists and the local community.

Simon and Sonja said: "We’re confident that St Austell Brewery, an independent, South West business - which shares our vision and has hospitality at its core - is the most suitable guardian for the Crabshell.

“It’s a company that we’ve enjoyed a strong trading relationship with since we started our business 13 years ago and we know the team there will nurture the pub and help it evolve for the future.

“Our team at the Crabshell have shaped it into the thriving venue it is today - a success that everyone can be proud to have played their part in. We wish them, and St Austell Brewery, all the very best in this exciting next chapter.”

Tommy Banks to launch county inn

The Tommy Banks Group will launch country pub the Abbey Inn in North Yorkshire on 26 May.

Boasting views over the Byland Abbey, the venue was built by monks in 1853 and has been converted into a public house.

The Banks team is working on a refresh of the pub, with a new kitchen, dining room and bar area equipped with fires and a bar.

The pub will be family and dog friendly, while exhibiting the hyper-local, sustainability focused ethos for which the Group is renowned.

Dishes will include Confit chicken brioche dumplings with lemon verbena, Doddington croquetas with elderflower honey vinegar and Glazed Herdwick lamb rib with yoghurt flatbread and fermented carrots.

Hydes invests £150k into village pub

North west-based brewer and pub operator Hydes Brewery has relaunched Cheadle pub the Crown Inn after a £150,000 investment.

The refurbishment programme included a new look in celebration of the new King, timed to be complete in time for the coronation (Saturday 6 May).

The new look of the traditional pub, which was originally bought by Hydes in 1965, will include an extensive inside redecoration, improved lighting, new booth seating alongside an updated sound system and TVs plus a redesigned bar layout, more spacious seating area and a bar side snug.

A refresh of the external of the building has also been undertaken in a bid to further enhance the pub’s appeal.

Metropolitan Pub Company to open 77^th venue

Metropolitan Pub Company will open a bar and restaurant – the Milsom – in Bath for its 77th site.

The London-based operator has taken a Grade II-listed Georgian building on Milsom Street, which has been home to a bank and a Loch Fyne restaurant previously, and will open the venue with nine hotel rooms on Tuesday (2 May).

As part of its strategy to increase its national footprint, the pubco recently acquired three sites in Glasgow – the Ubiquitous Chip, Stravaigin and Hanoi Bike Shop – and has also opened Langbourns, a conversion of Loch Fyne City, as well as gastropubs the Anchorage in Poole and Little Rose in Cambridge during the past 12 months.