Wed 2nd Apr 2014 - Breaking News - Realpubs founders buy first two sites for new company Realpubs founders buy first two sites for new company: The Old Ship Inn in Hackney, an Enterprise Inns free-of-tie lease, has been sold by Davis Coffer Lyons to Urban Pubs & Bars, the new company set up by the founders of Realpubs, Malcolm Heap and Nick Pring, last year. This purchase follows the opening of the company’s first site, the Whippet Inn in Kensal Rise, a commercial free-of-tie lease, last month. Urban Pubs & Bars is now looking to grow an estate of up to 20 sites across Central London and its ‘urban villages’ over the next four years through the acquisition of further quality leasehold or freehold public houses, which are capable of achieving weekly sales in excess of £20,000. The Old Ship Inn is a three-storey mid-terrace public house in a sought-after area of Hackney close to the London Fields Overground station and adjacent to Hackney Empire. The 4,850 sq ft pub has a stylish bar area on the ground floor with ten en-suite four-star rated boutique hotel rooms over the upper floors. The area has benefitted from a number of investment and regeneration projects with planning consent recently granted for The Hackney Fashion Hub nearby. Chris Bickle, associate director at DCL, said: “Hackney is an increasingly sought after area of London particularly for independent operators. The area has experienced a seismic shift in popularity with the various travel infrastructure and commercial development projects. Average house prices are now in excess of £500,000 in the borough. The Old Ship Inn is perfectly positioned to serve the diverse customer base in the area.” Malcom Heap, of Urban Pubs & Bars, added: “We are very excited to be in Hackney for our second site. The Old Ship Inn is a great pub and this will be our first foray into the pub hotel market – we expect the ten rooms to continue to be a great income stream for the business.” Nick Pring said: “We hope to have a few more sites by the end of the year.”