Thornbridge & Co to open first London pub

The Wild Swan will occupy the corner of a new development on Fetter Lane in the city on a 25-year lease. Work begins in January 2025 on a £1 million refit, and the two-storey pub is set to open its doors next Easter.

It will join three existing Thornbridge & Co pubs, the Market Cat in York, the Bankers Cat in Leeds and the Colmore in Birmingham, providing a similar cask ale-led offer alongside craft beers, wines and pizzas served through the day.

Incredibly proud 

“I’m really excited about it,” said Thornbridge CEO Simon Webster. “It’s our first new-build and an opportunity to showcase our full range of beers, alongside guests. We are incredibly proud to join London’s beer scene and be able to create a new layer of history for the city.”

Fellow director and Pivovar founder Jamie Hawksworth said the opening will fulfil the venture’s ambition from the start to have a presence in the capital. “We have worked long and hard with developer YardNine and it’s great to be able to bring a new pub to Fetter Lane.”

The pub’s name is a nod to the White Swan, which was demolished, along with the rest of the block, in 2021 to make way for the development. Wild Swan is also the name of a pale ale brewed by Thornbridge at its base in the Peak District.

Good value 

Webster added that he had no doubts about running a “heavy on cask” wet-led pub in London, which has seen many operators taking out handpumps in the past few years as sales have dropped.

“The idea that cask beer is in decline is not something we’re familiar with as Thornbridge’s cask sales have been climbing,” he said, promising that the Swan will replicate the ‘northern serve’ with sparklers fitted. “Prices are very high in the capital, though, so we think we can offer good value.

“And although the city tends to be quiet at weekends, the area around Fetter Lane is getting busier, and we are only five minutes from Chancery Lane Tube, so we see it as a great opportunity.”