Hall & Woodhouse has announced the acquisition of the Anvil Inn, Blandford Forum in Dorset. It's a traditional public house with a focus on great food and hospitality, and the benefit of letting rooms.
The Dorset brewer is undertaking a full refurbishment of the property and is currently recruiting a tenant to work with.
Hall & Woodhouse is seeking further acquisitions that fit into two of its identified pub segments: food-led village pubs, and wet-led town pubs or suburban outlets on major A roads leading out of conurbations.
The ideal sites will be capable of a turnover in excess of £500k a year, will be freehold pub houses and have the potential to grow via operator change, capital investment or best practice. The brewer is looking for pubs across Southern England, from south of the M4 and west up to the M25. Cities highlighted include Exeter, Brighton, Southampton, Bristol, Bath, St Albans, Newbury and Chichester.
Matt Kearsey, business partnerships director at Hall & Woodhouse, said, “Last year was very successful for us, with turnover, like-for-like sales and profit all up year on year. Investment into existing pub estate, and acquisition of new sites, was key to this success and will remain a key part of our strategy for 2016.
“We are in the process of identifying the type of pubs we wish to add to our portfolio, with a real focus on identifying sites that will generate success for both our business partners and ourselves.”