As a company we are always looking for new opportunities to expand and therefore the search for pubs with great potential is endless. So if you know of pubs that have potential but are not delivering the goods currently then let us know.

Below we break down what to look for when sourcing sites for Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars, so what are we looking for…………..??

Our perfect pub opportunity

General offering

In short, an ideal ‘Cheshire Cat’ pub is a relaxed, attractive place for adults to meet and chat without the intrusion of any other forms of entertainment. The food and drink is uncomplicated, but high quality, and the team are encouraged to be friendly and helpful.

Location – prominence

In the main we are looking for destination pubs and their success is dependent on building a good reputation through ‘word of mouth’ so they don’t need to be in high profile locations. However we need to be in the more affluent post codes/areas of towns/suburbs

Location – proximity to population

The perfect location is 5 to 15 minutes from the edge of a large population centre, which will ideally include a mixture of residential and office based businesses. This tends to ensure that the pubs have a faster start in life and are more accessible when we re-open them after refurbishment/restoration works. With time and a good reputation they can generate trade from people living and working much further away.

Location – aspect

Our overall product is based on a feel good factor and the prettier and more charming the location the better. Small country roads, rivers, ponds, views, village life etc all substantially enhance the customer experience and although not critical are very desirable.

The Property Itself

Once again the more interesting the better; our perfect sites are usually older as they tend to have more intrinsic physical charm. Having said that we have taken on some pretty ugly and “out of sorts” properties and made them pleasing to visit, but you can’t beat centuries old beams and inglenook fireplaces as a head start. Although we have highly successful properties that don’t match the following criteria, this is what we now ideally aim for

• Customer floor areas – minimum 2,500 sq ft
• Service areas – roughly to match the customer areas i.e. minimum 2,500 sq ft
• Car parking – Preferably a minimum 30 but preferably 50 plus, obviously the bigger the pub, the more you need.
• Externally – we like room to create a terrace and an attractive garden, which gives us an edge come summer and sets an attractive scene all year round.

Where in the country?

North

Cheshire mainly although would look at good pub opportunities in the Northwest as a whole. We would consider the right pub in the right parts of West Yorkshire, North Staffordshire and North Shropshire also.