Expanding Pub & dining group now run 44 venues across London with more to follow
London’s leading premium pub and dining group Urban Pubs & Bars has announced its latest pub acquisitions across the capital.
The Herne in East Dulwich is an iconic Victorian pub which was built in the mid-19th Century with a huge beer garden that is much loved in the area.
Urban Pubs and Bars have already installed a new menu which features pub classic and a hearty Sunday Roast with meat from award winning butcher HG Walter.
Urban Pubs & Bars has purchased the site and plan to continue trading as normal.
This takes Urban Pubs & Bars tally of London venues to 44 locations, in line with company expansion plans.
This adds to the tally of UP&B sites opened this year which includes iconic Spitalfields pub The Gun from East London Pub Co and The Red Setter located in the vibrant Northcote Road community between Battersea and Clapham.
The latter venue had undergone a £1m refurbishment and building programme. To celebrate the opening UP&B urged owners of Red Setter dogs and other dogs to join the launch to create a special image of the distinctive dogs standing proudly outside.
Earlier this year UP&B announced group EBITDA of £6.4m for the financial year-ended April 30, 2023, an improvement of 11 per cent versus the prior year.
The leisure group revealed like-for-like sales were up 17 per cent and turnover increased by almost 60 per cent to £52.2m.
The previous financial year had been a transformational period for the group with significant new investment including the acquisition of 16 sites. The group has more than doubled in size in the last 24 months.
UP&B also reported an exceptional Christmas trading period, with like-for-like sales growth of 19 per cent in December 2023. This continued strong performance reflects London recovering to pre-pandemic levels.
Since the start of the current financial year, the business has successfully opened four new sites including The Red Setter, Victory at Waterloo Station, Railway in Putney and The Junction in Islington, with trading exceeding expectations.
The UP&B Group, includes flagship pubs Nest, Bishopsgate, The Wheatsheaf, Tooting and The Gatehouse, Highgate, is encouraged by the news and predicts further growth despite economic forecasts, transport strikes and the general state of the UK economy.
UP&B Managing Director, Chris Hill, said: “We are delighted to add The Gun in Spitalfields and The Herne in East Dulwich to our growing portfolio. These are iconic pubs and we will continue to offer the excellent food, drink and great service that Urban Pubs and Bars are famous for.”
Urban Pubs & Bars was founded in 2014 by Nick Pring and Malc Heap and has grown to an estate of 44 pubs, bars and restaurants across London, including the acquisition and growth of the Salt Yard Group.
In 2018 Urban Pubs & Bars was ranked number 28 in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 list, recognising Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing sales. The Company was then nominated for two Publican Awards in 2020, winning the award for ‘Best Managed Pub Company – 2-50 sites’ on the night. In 2021, Urban was awarded ‘Best Food-led Pub Company 2021’ at the R200 awards. Most recently, Urban once again won ‘Best Managed Pub Company – 2-50 sites’ at the Publican Awards in 2023.
Venues include The Wheatsheaf, Tooting, The Gatehouse, Highgate, Nest in the City and Bat & Ball London.
