The Marquis of Lorne in Stevenage, Hertfordshire received a cash injection of more than a quarter of a million pounds to turn it into a Nest Pub.
This franchise is the second from Greene King Pub Partners, building on the success of its Hive Pubs.
Nest Pubs are wet-led pubs, predominantly located on busy high streets and in communities, aiming to provide great value, an excellent experience alongside regular sport and entertainment.
Company investment
Nest Pub openings:
March 2024 – The Palmer Tavern, Reading, Berkshire
May 2024 – The Highwood, Solihull and the Wellington near Birkenhead
June 2024 – The Friar, Colchester, Essex and the Red Lion, Chesham, Buckinghamshire
July 2024 – The Marquis of Lorne in Stevenage, Hertfordshire
A wide range of drinks are on offer as well as easy-to-serve pizzas while sport is a key feature of the concept and sites have Sky Sports and TNT Sports subscriptions.
To date, the business has invested almost £1.5m into the six Nest sites so far with the largest investment in the fifth opening (the Red Lion in Chesham, Buckinghamshire) of £375,000.
Upon the launch of the concept, Greene King’s franchise operations director Penny Baldwin told The Morning Advertiser the plan was to roll out an initial 10 sites in the first 12 months.
On the opening of the sixth site, Greene King Pub Partners managing director Dan Robinson said the business was delighted with the latest pub and outlined the future plans for the Nest portfolio.
On target
He added: “As the sixth Nest Pub, we are well on our way to reaching our target of 10 Nest Pub openings this year.”
Franchisees of the pub Mark Teare and Natasha Thomas previously worked for holiday parks operator Pontins.
They said: “We are over the moon to be running the Marquis of Lorne as Nest Pub franchisees.
“Greene King’s investment in the pub has transformed it meaning as the franchisees, we are now ready to run an excellent pub business.”
