Northern Hospitality Operators Take Second Investment Site with Star Pubs

Northern hospitality operators Allan Spofforth and brothers Matthew and Mark Laughton are taking a ten-year fully repairing and insuring lease on their second pub with Star Pubs, growing their estate to four hospitality venues as they look to expand across the North of England.

The trio are now embarking on a £620,000 joint refurbishment of The Trevor Arms at Marford with Star Pubs prior to its December opening, which will create around 25 new jobs.

The Grade-II listed pub is having a full internal and external overhaul to transform it into a into a top-quality family- and dog-friendly pub serving superb food and drink and boasting a stunning new garden and 20 redecorated letting rooms.

The revamp will upgrade The Trevor Arms throughout and bring out all its character, restoring features such as old beams and flagstone floors. The smart new décor will complement the historic pub – parts of which date back to the 17th century – incorporating heritage colours, classic fabrics and traditional furniture.

Matthew, Mark and Allan will draw on their experience at their Leeds restaurant, Blackhouse, and their Chester cocktail bar, Red Door, to deliver elevated food and drink in a warm, welcoming pub setting at The Trevor Arms. The business partners will seek further freehold and leased & tenanted hospitality opportunities – including cocktails bars, restaurants and pubs – across the North of England once The Trevor Arms is successfully relaunched and stabilised.

Explains Matthew: “We currently have two traditional leases where we pay for the building and go it alone and two with Star – The Faulker at Hoole and The Trevor Arms – where it’s more of a business partnership. It’s a challenging time to stand completely on your own, and we like the additional support Star provides, it makes our portfolio stronger. They’ve got skin in the game and an incentive to ensure their pubs perform well. They respect our expertise and work flexibly to accommodate our business model and vision. Their 10-year leases suit us; we’re in it for the long-term at all our ventures and we reinvest to ensure each is the very best it can be.

“As independent operators we can be fleet of foot when it comes to acquisitions, but we’ve not got a set number of sites in mind – we won’t take on more for the sake of it, each has to stack up in its own right.”

Adds Craig Foweather, Star Pubs’ investment manager: “We’re delighted to be making such a massive investment into The Trevor Arms. It’s a very prominent and distinctive pub with lots of space. We want to do it justice and develop it into a robust business – the spend will create multiple income streams. Matthew, Mark and Allan don’t do things by halves; their other venues are all exceptional. We fully expect The Trevor Arms to follow suit and offer superior quality across the board.”