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Mon 23rd Feb 2015 - Propel Monday News Briefing |
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Story of the Day:PizzaLuxe reduces own valuation to offer more equity to investors: PizzaLuxe, the fledgling better pizza operator led by Harrods' former director of food, Paul Goodale, has revised its valuation on Crowdcube downward in response to investor feedback, increasing the amount of equity it is offering in return for £500,000 of investment. The company has told investors it will increase investors’ equity stake to 30%, up from the previous 18%. The move means that the company has dropped it own valuation from around £2.52m to around £1.68m. Goodale told investors: “We have decided to change the valuation of our business so that each investor will receive more shares for his and her investment. The £500,000 equity offered will now be worth 30% of the business instead of the initial 19%, thus making the multiple return on investment 8x. The reason behind this is two-fold: first, we wanted to reward those investors who have already pledged towards PizzaLuxe, offering them more shares for their money; and second, we wanted to listen to and invoke some of the feedback we have received around the valuation. We hope that you agree with the change in valuation and that it is the right move for us.” PizzaLuxe operates sites at Trinity Leeds and Westfield Stratford and is due to open in Shoreditch, East London in April. The company is expected to turn over £959,000 in the year to March 2015, producing ebitda of £101,000 and pre-tax profit of £51,000. PizzaLuxe’s financial plan forecasts turnover of £4.9m by March 2018, producing ebitda of £614,000 and pre-tax profit of £375,000. Goodale has argued that PizzaLuxe has a differentiated position in the hipster pizza market. He said: "All the other operators in the 'hipster' pizza category are making thicker pizzas, usually in the classic Neapolitan-style cooked in gas or wood ovens. This is the case with Pizza Pilgrims, Franco Manca and Rossopomodoro. Other operators are Homeslice and Voodoo Rays, both of whom who serve very large 20-inch American-style deep crust pizza. PizzaLuxe is the only operator in this category to be offering a healthier product on an ultra-thin base. We pride ourselves on the quality of our ingredients and customers appreciate the light and fresh product unique to PizzaLuxe. Our thin pizza also means that we can cook without mechanical extract, which, therefore, means we can take A1 premises and airport environments, where traditional high-temperature cooking with wood ovens is not permitted. Our use of electrical ovens means our offer is a lot more flexible in property terms.” So far, 57 investors have pledged £123,800, 24% of the target.
Company News:Welcome Break to open 14 more Harry Ramsden’s before summer: A further 14 Harry Ramsden’s outlets are scheduled to open at Welcome Break Services across the UK before summer after the opening of four in 2014. The first two new Harry’s outlets open their doors this month at Welcome Break’s Fleet South services, at Junction 4a/5 on the M3 in Hampshire, and at the Hopwood Park services, at Junction 2 of the M42 in Alvechurch, Birmingham. Seven further openings are planned for March at the Keele South, Leicester Forest East, Corley South, Warwick North and South, Gordano and Michaelwood South service stations. Joe Teixeira, chief executive of Harry Ramsden’s, said: “The public’s appetite for Harry’s has been such that the decision to continue and indeed step up our partnership was an extremely easy one for everyone involved. Rod Mckie, chief executive of Welcome Break, said: “As we predicted, our partnership with Harry’s has continued to go from strength to strength since the first outlet opened last year. The Harry’s brand is one that is known and loved throughout the UK and we’re delighted that our customers will have the chance to stop at even more of our service stations to enjoy traditional fish and chips when they’re on the road. With the success of this partnership set to continue, we anticipate that we’ll be opening even more Harry’s outlets at Welcome Break service stations by the end of 2015.”
Camden Town Brewery hits 50% funded mark, talking to investors looking at single £100,000-plus investments: Camden Town Brewery in North London has hit the halfway mark in raising £1.5m in return for 2.5% of its equity on the crowdfunding website Crowdcube. A total of 816 investors have so far pledged £761,110, which is 50% of the total with 45 days left. Camden Town directors have made it clear that they do not intend to reduce their £75m valuation of the company despite questions raised over the sum. The company's finance director, Patrik Franzen, said: “We do not intend to reduce the valuation during this pitch. If, in what I believe is the very unlikely scenario, we fail to reach our target, the current shareholders will step in and support the growth of the business. This pitch has always been about getting our customers, family and fans involved in the business. [Founder] Jasper Cuppaidge argued strongly that we should limit investment to a maximum of £10,000 per investor as he wanted as many people on board as possible. I have friends and family invested already and strongly believe they will get a great return along with the rest of the crowd on exit. We are currently discussing the pitch with investors looking at taking shares far in excess of £100,000. I am very confident we will fund and that we will reach our exit targets.”
Five Guys lines up French opening: The better burger brand Five Guys Burger and Fries is lining up its first opening in France. A job advert for a “passionate” manager to open the company’s “first, flagship restaurant in France” was posted on the career site Apec last week. The new restaurant is due to open in Paris, although no opening date has been set and the company has not confirmed plans for expansion ion France. A study published last year revealed that hamburgers "have become the dish of choice for France”. Burgers are reported to be on the menu of nearly three quarters of all restaurants in the country. The move comes after Five Guys granted franchise rights in Ireland last month to the Desmond brothers.
Steak, Cattle and Roll debuts at historic Glasgow cafe site: The new better burger concept Steak, Cattle and Roll has opened on the site of an historic 117-year-old cafe, Kings Café, on Weaver Street in Glasgow city centre. The new opening has retained some of the historic cafe’s heritage:, and part of the new signage for the opening reads: “Est. 1898”. Steak, Cattle and Roll's owner, Adam Hussain, who is opening another site on Howard Street, Glasgow, said of the Kings Cafe takeover: “We currently have our second location opening in a couple of months, but the opportunity for the Kings Cafe site came along at we just couldn’t turn it down. We sat down and discussed our options for the cafe, and the aim is to not remove any of the history that makes it so well known. It would be naive of us to look past the history, so instead we plan on making a fusion between the two.”
Steamin’ Billy heads TripAdvisor with Burger and Brews concept: Steamin’ Billy, the brewer and operator of ten pubs led by Billy Allingham, has claimed top spot on TripAdvisor for the whole of Leicestershire for its fledgling Burgers and Brews concept at the Paget pub in Loughborough. The pub is ranked number one out of 1,607 restaurants in Leicestershire. Allingham told Propel: “The concept is very simple: excellent on-site minced patties, a limited-choice menu with interesting craft beers including our own 1485 5% well-hopped IPA available in keg and cask. The pub suits a simple single-food offering as it is in a densely populated student area. Our latest acquisition, the Wilmot Arms in Chaddesden, Derby, has also started trading very positively. We removed the pool table, did a great, comfortable refurbishment, added a good selection of cask ales and craft beers to a traditionally lager-led pub and the locals have poured back in to use the pub, with very enthusiastic comments.”
Bulldog Hotel Group makes design award short-list with in-house scheme: The coaching inn operator Bulldog Hotel Group, whose Talbot site in Oundle, Northamptonshire is currently Routiers Hotel of the Year, has been shortlisted in the Casual Dining Show's Best-Designed Casual Dining Pub competition for a scheme at the Old Bridge and Coffee House, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. The scheme was designed in-house, making Bulldog the only finalist not to use an outside design agency. The other finalists are: Adventure Bar, Clapham Junction, London (designed by Mystery Ltd); the Castle, Tooting, South London (designed by Fusion by Design); the Dispensary, Aldgate, City of London (designed by Jackie McWeeney Interior Design) and Whiting & Hammond’s Kings Head, Bessels Green, Kent (designed by Design ID). The winner will unveiled at the show on Wednesday (25 February).
Fruit machine giant Sceptre bought by Germany's Gauselmann in pre-pack for £10.25m: Sceptre Leisure, which rents out 30,000 gaming machines, juke boxes and the like to 10,000 locations in the UK, mostly pubs and motorway service stations, has been acquired by the German Gauselmann Group after a pre-packaged administration deal. The sale came after Chenavari Financial group, the fund manager to Sceptre's biggest debtor, the Luxembourg-based Auster Real Estate Opportunities (Areo), which was owed £16m in loans after helping to fund a £20m refinancing at the company in 2013, called in the corporate financial adviser Duff & Phelps in November last year. Duff & Phelps reported that Sceptre was likely to run out of funds early in 2015, after forecasts showed a sustained period of losses. Philip Duffy and Sarah Bell of Duff & Phelps were appointed administrators of the company, and Sceptre Leisure and its subsidiary Leisureking were sold on to Gauselmann via a pre-packaged administration sale as a going concern for £10.25m, with Sceptre's more than 350 employees keeping their jobs. Sceptre, the second largest company in the sector, which is based at Bamber Bridge, near Preston, Lancashire, operates ten regional depots and supplies equipment including fruit machines, juke boxes, quiz machines and pool tables to pub companies, motorway service stations, bingo halls and independents. The Gauselmann Group said it was in discussion with another gaming company regarding the possibility of a strategic investment in the business designed to "further strengthen" its acquisition.
Giggling Squid completes on Guildford site: Giggling Squid, the Thai chain led by Andy and Pranee Laurillard, has completed on its 13th site, a former Cafe Rouge in Guildford, Surrey which will re-open later this year offering 90 covers. It currently seats 60. The company, which operates ten sites, will open in Bristol and Salisbury next.
PizzaExpress opens at Broughton Shopping Park: A new branch of PizzaExpress has opened at Broughton Shopping Park near Chester, with designs inspired by the nearby Airbus factory and Hawarden airport. The restaurant, which seats 122, has created 35 jobs. PizzaExpress is in the middle of rolling out interior redesigns that are often based on well-known places, people or historical events from the local area. The artwork at Broughton Park has been influenced by the area’s aviation heritage. Blueprint diagrams have been used to create bold, striking compositions of aircraft detail and placed on a series of large canvases throughout the restaurant.
Cook and Indi’s World Buffet opens seventh site today with a nod to Harry Ramsden’s: A 200-capacity Cook and Indi's World Buffet opens today in the former Harry Ramsden’s site on Paisley Road in Glasgow. The restaurant, which is leased from Glasgow Council, will employ up to 70 staff. It will join a estate that includes World Buffets in Bishopbriggs, Darnley, Hamilton, Johnstone and Glasgow city centre. Cook and Indi’s World Buffet offers seven different cuisines (Indian, Japanese, Sushi, Chinese, Italian, Spanish and Mexican) and more than 100 dishes.
Jamie Rollo – hotel occupancy at record levels in a number of markets: Morgan Stanley's leisure analyst Jamie Rollo has reported that hotel occupancy rates in many international markets are at multi-decade highs. He said: “Investors appear concerned that with occupancy rates 'at peak' we must be near the end of the cycle. We disagree. Indeed the US has seen 46 consecutive months of records of room nights sold, and demand growth shows no sign of slowing. With low supply growth in all key markets, and consistently strong demand growth, we see occupancy rates continuing to rise over the next two years, reaching new records (and 65% for the US is not that high). With elevated occupancy, pricing power is improving, so we have the most attractive hotel trading conditions in a generation.”
Matthew Clark adds 30 producers to premium wine line-up: Matthew Clark, the on-trade drinks supplier, has added more than 30 new premium wine producers to its line-up. The additions to the range will be available to taste at Matthew Clark’s annual London customer event, #WhyWeLoveWine, which takes place at Tobacco Dock, Wapping, East London on 3 March. The new producers include two from Chablis, after a 20% surge in Chablis sales over the past year, sparkling wines from the Cornish winery Camel Valley, after sales of English sparkling more than doubled, and Alsatian-inspired Pinot Blancs from Oregon’s Four Graces winery. Purchasing director Simon Jerrome said: “Over the past few years we have developed and built our premium offering, which has been extremely well-received by customers, and is reflected in the uplift we’ve seen in these sectors.”
Soho House to create Mandolin outposts around the world after Florida deal: Soho House founder Nick Jones has stated that the business plans to create outposts of the Greek and Turkish food specialist Mandolin House around the world after a deal in Miami, Florida. In an email sent to members, Jones said Soho House is partnering with the owners of the Miami-based Mandolin Aegean Bistro to open a spin-off of the restaurant at the private club's Miami Beach location. The 60-seat venue will be called Mandolin at the Beach and is scheduled to launch in March. It will take over the Tiki Bar restaurant by the pool and will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mandolin will also be in charge of food and drinks for the pool and beach. The original Mandolin opened in 2010 in the Miami Design District and the husband-and-wife team behind Mandolin, Ahmet Erkaya and Anastasia Koutsioukis, will now head to Turkey to work with Soho House on the food and beverage offer for the club's Istanbul location. In the email, Jones wrote: "Our partnership not only enables us to be part of the existing Miami location, but also create more Mandolin outposts around the world."
Bordeaux Fine Wines boss banned as a director for 15 years after taking £10m in dividends: Kenneth Jean Pierre Gundlach, the director of Bordeaux Fine Wines Limited, a company which sold wine to members of the public, has been disqualified from promoting, managing or directing a limited company until 2030 for failing to purchase at least £9.3m of wine sold to investors. In the undertaking given to the Secretary of State for Business, Gundlach accepted that he had failed to purchase and/or allocate at least 1,750 cases of wine to satisfy purchases made by its customers. His disqualification is for 15 years, the maximum period available. Investigators said that Gundlach had received dividends from the company totalling more than £10m, a sum that was in excess of the value of the wine the company ought to have purchased for its customers. Paul Titherington, the Official Receiver in the Public Interest Unit, said: “It was Gundlach and his salesmen who benefited from this company rather than its honest investors. He continued to sell wine when he knew he had failed to fulfil earlier sales. Anyone showing such blatant disregard for commercial morality should expect to be banned from running any limited company for a lengthy period time.”
The Real Greek opens eighth site: The Real Greek, the Eastern Mediterranean restaurant group, has launched its eighth site, this time in Soho, Central London. The 1,716 sq ft restaurant is in Berwick Street, close to Oxford Street, and provides 75 covers. The restaurant will be run by general manager Kostas Kyriakou, who previously oversaw the chain's Covent Garden restaurant. Christos Karatzenis, head of operations at The Real Greek, said: “Berwick Street is a foodie Mecca for many Londoners, from the lively market to the huge mix of unique restaurants. It receives huge footfall from local office workers, tourists and shoppers, all of whom are seeking a laid back and sociable dining experience. Since the launch of the first The Real Greek in 1999, we have noticed there’s a real appetite for Eastern Mediterranean food, which is healthy and nutritious, and we have opened and continue to open our restaurants to accommodate this growing demand.”
McDonald’s revives menu item is axed two years ago: McDonald's is bringing back a menu item in the United States it got rid of just two years ago. The company has announced it is bringing back its chicken tenders, called Chicken Selects. “Chicken Selects will make a national return in early March and [will] be sold as an order with three pieces,” McDonald's spokeswoman Terri Hickey said. “We look forward to bringing back this customer favourite made with chicken tenderloin.” Chicken Selects were on the menu for a decade but were cut after the company trimmed its menu. McDonald's began testing seasoning flavours that customers can shake on nuggets last week. The flavours include zesty ranch, chipotle BBQ and garlic Parmesan. So far, only locations in Northern Nevada are part of the trial but the new Shakin' Flavour offering will also be available in the San Francisco, Sacramento, Chico and Fresno markets shortly
Greene King pays £1m for Farmhouse Inns site next to Sale Sharks rugby ground: Greene King is building a Farmhouse Inns pub-restaurant on land next to Salford's rugby ground, the AJ Bell Stadium, home to the Sale Sharks and the Red Devils. The company paid around £1m for the plot, which will be covered by a 297-cover restaurant when it opens in the summer. Other plots are reportedly being eyed for a hotel and a fast-food takeaway. The stadium, which opened in 2012, was built as the catalyst to regenerate more than 36 acres of formerly derelict land. The site is close to Port Salford, currently under development, which will create the UK’s first inland port to be served by water, road and rail, bringing more than 3,800 permanent jobs to the city. Salford City's mayor, Ian Stewart, said: “Greene King is building on the foundations we laid in 2012 for a successful future for this area. This new pub and restaurant will generate permanent jobs when it opens as well as providing new facilities for residents and visitors. It will also be the catalyst for the sale of more land around the AJ Bell Stadium and bringing this former derelict wasteland back to life.”
Mitchells & Butlers to re-open former Orchid site in North Shields as Harvester: Mitchells & Butlers is to re-open former Orchid pub The Magic Lantern, on Preston North Road, in North Shields, Tyneside which previously housed a Fuzzy Ed’s play area, as a Harvester next month. The venue was closed earlier this year for an eight-week refurbishment and rebranding programme. A further 35 positions will be created when the restaurant opens. A Facebook page has been set up, informing people of the opening on 3 March. The site has already attracted more than 120 "likes".
Domino’s launches 'tummy translator' app: Domino’s Pizza has launched its latest mobile innovation, The Tummy Translator, an app that helps users navigate the extensive menu choice by translating their stomach rumbles. Using a fictional new technology, "Gastro-Acoustic-Enterology", the app claims to enable users to rely on their stomach to choose their ideal order. The idea was developed by Iris, the creative innovation network, to increase consumers' awareness of Domino’s claims to freshness and the extensive range available on its menu. Rupal Patel, digital campaign manager at Domino’s said: “At Domino’s we like to push the barriers of innovation and also, give our consumers little moments of joy along the way. This is a tongue-in-cheek way of demonstrating the wide range of choice available, and making ordering your pizza a bit more interesting. On average 62% of our orders come in through online, and 50% of those are mobile orders. The Tummy Translator is a way of us engaging with those users in a fun, unique and entertaining way.” Iris also created a film to launch the app, giving a brief history of the "technology" behind it as well as informing the user exactly how the app works.
Light Cinemas plans expansion after new funding deal: An independent cinema operator with plans to open several new sites has secured more than £5m in funding. The Light Cinemas, which was founded in 2007 and already has sites in New Brighton, Merseyside and Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, said it wanted to capitalise on the success of its existing cinemas and expand to other parts of the country. The investment from Connection Capital was supported by £4.5m of funding from Santander. The investment will be used to acquire a nine-screen multiplex cinema in the centre of Cambridge from Cineworld. It will also fund the roll-out of further sites in Bolton, Sheffield, Thetford in Norfolk, Dundee, Stockport and Walsall, all of which are secured under a signed agreement for lease. The Light Cinemas' chief executive, Keith Pullinger, said: "Based on our success in New Brighton and Wisbech, The Light have identified a number of catchments that are currently poorly served for cinema provision. We are introducing The Light cinema concept into a number of town centre and shopping centre developments over the next two years.”
Saved Norfolk pub re-opens after adding bakery and cafe: An historic pub in Brockdish, Norfolk, has re-opened for the first time in 18 months after a refurbishment that has added a bakery and cafe to the premises. The Old King’s Head, a Grade-II listed building in The Street with origins dating back to the 13th Century, is now owned by siblings Jonathan Townley and Louise Lees, who purchased the pub a year after its closure in September 2013.With the help of a grant from Norfolk County Council and assistance from the Pub is The Hub scheme, the Old King’s Head has undergone significant interior and exterior renovations, adding a bakery and a cafe to the existing property. Townley, a Norfolk-born chef by trade with experience in restaurants across England, said: “Our vision for a rural pub like the Old King’s Head has married my culinary expertise and my sister’s business acumen with the community need for a social hub in Brockdish and the provision of new services. I am enormously grateful to Norfolk County Council for their grant and to Pub is The Hub for their guidance and encouragement.” The alterations include a cafe accessible through a separate rear entrance, a two-tier stone bakery oven for cooking bread, cakes and pizzas, and a new bartop built with oak from a local tree felled more than 30 years ago. Terry Stork, the regional advisor for Pub is The Hub in East Anglia, said: “Schemes like this help to secure a rural community pub’s long term viability.”
Agreement signed off on £200m Bracknell development including eight restaurants: Work is due to start this spring on the £200m redevelopment of Bracknell town centre in Buckinghamshire after the final signing of a development agreement for the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership, a joint venture between Legal & General Capital (LGC) and Schroder UK Property Fund. Eight restaurants have agreed to take space in the Northern Retail Quarter scheme, including Carluccios, Zizzi, Coast to Coast, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Pizza Express, Nando's and Las Iguanas. The project, covering a total of 580,000 sq ft of new retail and leisure space, supported by a 1,300 space multi-storey car park and landscaped public spaces, should be completed by 2017, LGC said in a statement.
Aviva sells £75m St Georges Shopping Centre in Preston: The St Georges Shopping Centre in Preston, home to branches of Subway, Chinese Buffet, Costa Coffee, Greggs and Krispy Kreme, and the local cafe operators Cafe Fresch and Raffles, has been sold for an estimated £70m to £75m by Aviva to InfraRed Capital Partners. The centre is in the heart of Preston, fronting Fishergate, the city's main high street. Its more than 280,000 sq ft of retail space has more than 100 shop units.
Spirit picks Iveco to replace fleet: Spirit Pub Company has reached an agreement with Iveco, via its logistics partner Kuehne & Nagel, to replace its fleet with 56 vehicles responsible for delivery to the company’s network of almost 800 pubs across the UK. Daniel Stretton, senior supply chain manager at Spirit, said: “We need vehicles, which can perform in all environments and offer maximum reliability and fuel efficiency for our business. We’re confident that the Stralis range is ideal for the job. Iveco has put in a great amount of time with us to ensure our new fleet will meet the needs of our business and growth perfectly.”
Tasty eyes Brentwood for Wildwood opening: Tasty is eyeing an iconic building in Brentwood, Essex for an opening of its Wildwood brand. It wants to open a branch in the ground floor of the former Clement Joscelyne building, near Wilsons Corner. The 19th century building has been empty since 2012. The company has already been given permission for a licence to sell alcohol but requires planning permission to change the building's use before it can sell food.
Two cereal cafes race to be first to open in Manchester: Two rival cereal cafes are racing to become the first to open in Manchester. Black Milk Cereal Dive has confirmed it will open in Afflecks Palace, the indoor market off Short Street, next month and Cereal Central MCR is also "coming soon", according to Twitter. Both will serve breakfast cereals from all over the world for customers to enjoy at any time of day. Oliver Taylor, founder of Black Milk, said: “I think it’s good to have a clustering of businesses, it can only be a good thing." His cafe, inspired by the Momofuku milk bar in New York and the Cereal Killer cafe in East London, will sell breakfast cereals imported from all over the world served with flavoured milk infused with everything from salted caramel to squid ink, the latter being the blend that gives the business its name. Taylor said: “We didn’t want Manchester to miss out on the fun going on in New York and London. We’ve got a wide range of American and European cereals that aren’t on general sale in the UK and we’re working with some top chefs around Manchester to make milk infusions.”
Urban Street Food expands into Manchester: Urban Street Food, based in Shoreditch, East London, is to expand into Manchester. It will take over a car park off Deansgate every Saturday from 28 February. The pop-up event will feature 15 different local traders every week, serving gourmet street food from all over the world, including British pulled pork sliders, Venezuelan arepas, Italian wood-fired pizza, Mexican burritos, Spanish paella, Peruvian choripan and Greek souvlaki. Diners can sit down to eat and drink together in a communal seating area while listening to live music from a changing line-up of six musicians every week. Founder Jessica Tucker, who is originally from south Manchester, said: "As soon as we opened the London event I was keen to bring it to my home town of Manchester. We're trying to keep it as local as possible, we want it to be really Manchester-focused with an emphasis on locally produced, gourmet food. The stalls will change every single week so there will always be a different line-up of producers with different dishes to try. It's been a huge hit in Shoreditch, with first-class national and international press coverage. We get visitors from around the world and this will be the hottest event in Manchester."
McDonald's franchisee adds two in Walsall: Wright Restaurants, which runs ten McDonald's franchises in the Midlands, has acquired two more, both in Walsall. The two McDonald's outlets are in Park Street in Walsall town centre and on the Broadwalk Retail Park. The acquisition has been supported by a seven-figure funding package from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which includes a fee-free loan under the government-backed Funding for Lending Scheme. The funding will help the new owner inject capital into the businesses, with a planned investment into the Park Street outlet to coincide with a series of improvements currently taking place in that part of the town. Douglas Wright, managing director of Wright Restaurants said: “I am thrilled that the acquisition has been successful and that we have been able to take on the ownership of the Park Street and Broadwalk Retail Park McDonald’s franchises. These latest acquisitions are part of my ongoing growth strategy to continue to expand the business and number of outlets we own and operate. Both restaurants are in excellent locations and benefit from high volumes of footfall, which made them extremely attractive propositions. We plan to carryout significant renovations to the Park Street branch, completely refitting it and including new McDonalds interior design which incorporates our latest digital technology for ordering, cooking and serving."
Landlady attacks 'hypocritical' pub campaigners for trying to get pub listed without telling her: A landlady has attacked her local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) for trying to get her pub listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) without telling her. Lucie Spooner, owner of the Imperial Standard in Aldershot, said the ACV listing being sought by Camra and the Aldershot Civic Society may put off potential buyers as she tries to sell the pub. She told the Aldershot News newspaper: “This has come at the wrong time, because how many potential buyers are going to look up what a local listing means? They will just see ‘listed’, and get put off. The fact they have done this without asking me is my main bugbear. I think they have gone for me purely because they have seen my pub on the market. They are campaigning to save pubs that are not in danger and that they are clearly not drinking in, which does seem a little bit hypocritical. I totally agree we are a community asset, we are a thriving pub and I wouldn’t dream of selling to developers. I am too heavily invested in it to want to sell it on as anything other than a pub. But I have done seven years, a long time, and I need a leg operation which is making it more and more difficult to do my job.” Justin Coll, chairman of the civic society, said: “At the moment the pub has just been suggested for a local listing. The owner will be consulted before anything final happens. With hindsight this is something we would try to do differently in future, in particular making sure we speak to pub owners more."
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