Castle Rock Brewery adds to its estate
Castle Rock Brewery, the East Midlands based brewer and operator of 20 pubs in the East Midlands and Yorkshire, has purchased the freehold of the Horse and Plough, an established pub and restaurant in the commuter town of Bingham, ten miles from its base in Nottingham.
The pub has been acquired by The Beer Consortium Ltd., an EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) company set up in late 2014. It will be managed by Castle Rock and operated under the company’s long established real ale ethos.
Castle Rock has good experience of EIS funded growth. According to chairman, Geoff Newton, their first EIS funded pub, the Poppy and Pint, is an outstanding success both in its day-to-day operation and in its early financial backing: “Ever since we set about funding the purchase of the Poppy, we knew we had a loyal and discerning shareholder base who would look favourably on further opportunities. The Poppy paid a double digit dividend to shareholders in its third year’s trading.
“Many of those investors have stepped up again to be joined by others in this new scheme where fundraising has again been excellent. Approaching £1 million has been raised so far and we plan to leave the scheme open until 30 April to allow others to invest.
“The Horse and Plough is a traditional establishment in the attractive market town of Bingham. We’ve been in discussion with the vendors for some time and, though there’ll be change under the Castle Rock banner, we are confident the residents and customers in Bingham will welcome the quality of ales, food and service that have become the hallmarks of the Castle Rock estate.
Castle Rock’s managing director, Colin Wilde, says he is looking forward to running The Horse and Plough. “We’ll strive to provide to maintain the pub’s community focus by maintaining the pub’s well established relationships with its neighbourhood and the many individuals who call it their local,” says Colin.
Fund raising for The Beer Consortium Ltd will continue until 30 April with the aim of providing capital for further increases in the pub estate. Plans are well advanced for a second purchase later this year.
The contract for the acquisition was completed on 30 March.