Each week, around 29 British pubs call last orders and close their doors permanently on a sector that many insiders think is over-taxed and over-burdened by red tape and supermarket competition. However, for one AIM listed pub group, wider industry problems have failed to dampen a heady performance over the past 12 months.

Capital Pub Company PLC (LON:CPUB) was founded in December 2000 by David Bruce and Clive Watson who have gone on to build a portfolio of 32 pubs across London. Their strategy has been to buy up properties and stamp their own quality, wet-led approach and devolved management style on them. A series of capital raisings totalling £14.4m under the Enterprise Investment Scheme got the portfolio to 23 before the team brought the business to AIM in June 2007. In that time the stock has slipped from an opening price of 162p to a low in June 2009 of 31p but has climbed steadily this year to around 113p, helped by a series of new pub acquisitions. Those additions include the Havelock Tavern in Brook Green in February followed by a £5.0m deal to buy Tomahawk Pubs Ltd and its outlets, The Black Swan in Cobham, Surrey and The Morgan Arms in Bow. In November it exchanged contracts to acquire The Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross.

Among its peers, Capital counts Heavitree Brewery (LON:HVT) , Luminar Group Hldgs Plc (LON:LMR) and Prezzo (LON:PRZ) as well as the larger pub groups Young & Co's Brewery (LON:YNGA) , Marston's Plc (LON:MARS) , Mitchells & Butlers (LON:MAB) , Punch Taverns (LON:PUB) and Enterprise Inns (LON:ETI) . At the end of November, Watson reported that Capital’s revenues in the 26 weeks to September 26 had risen by 18% to £13.1m with adjusted pre-tax profits up 45% to £3.0m. In an interview with Stockopedia, he explained why the Capital Pub concept was proving so popular with London pub-goers.

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