Midlands and South West multiple operator, Banx Pub Company, has taken on the lease of The Princess Royal in Stoke on Trent and with Heineken owned Star Pubs is undertaking a £123,000 upgrade of the community local to create the best wet-led pub in the area.
The Princess Royal is Banx Pub Company’s third lease with Star Pubs. It currently runs six others on temporary management agreements with pipeline plans to convert four to substantive leases in the near future.
The latest acquisition brings the number of pubs in Banx Pub Company’s estate to 18.
The family run company was set up in 2021 by husband-and-wife team, Shelley & Graham Tongue. Its rapid growth led to other family members joining the business as General Manager and Head of Finance. It now has an annual turnover of around £6million.
The pubs are a mix of leasehold and free of tie and include everything from food to community wet led pubs and city centre late night venues.
Says Banx Pub Company General Manager Jamie Newbold: “Our current growth rate is around three to four pub investments per year. Our ambition is to have 20 pubs by the end of 2025 and 30 pubs in the medium term. However, there’s no limit on our growth plans given we can identify the right pubs and publicans to run them.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to assess the direction of a site based on its personality and demographic before then sourcing the perfect person to manage it. We ensure sites are well managed, compliant, and successful. Our publicans are provided with all the tools needed to build a healthy, successful, long-term career in the industry.
“There are some great people running pubs that don’t necessarily have finance skills. We allow them to do what they excel at, and we take care of the rest, which has proved a successful combination.
“We find it refreshing working with Star Pubs as we are honest with one another about their pubs and our mutual objectives. They believe in our company and our long-term goals.”
Says Star Pubs Business Development Manager, Andrew Myatt:
“The Princess Royal is a very popular local. We’re delighted to be co-investing with Banx Pub Group in The Princess Royal to improve the surroundings for local residents to socialise in. The Banx Pub Company has a great track record of taking on and creating popular pubs. We look forward to helping them realise their growth ambitions in the years to come.
