The Eliot Arms at South Cerney near Cirencester is re-opening on Friday 21 October following more than half a million-pound investment from Arkell’s Brewery during the summer.
The news of its latest investment by the nearly 180-year old Wiltshire family brewery Arkell's comes against a backdrop of gloomy data from real estate adviser Altus Group which revealed that the number of pubs closing permanently across England and Wales has hit a rate of 50 a month.
There is no doubt that many – you could say the majority of pub operators and landlords – are looking at a very challenging few months ahead, faced with potentially falling customer numbers and horrific energy bills.
But for those breweries and pub operators which have years of skin in the game, and really know what they're doing, while the future will undoubtedly be a challenge, they're not giving up hope.
Last week Bristol-based café-bar operator Loungers, owner of the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, revealed that it had delivered like-for-like sales growth of 17 per cent, using the period 22nd April to 6th October 2019 as the comparator.
Since the start of its financial year, the Group has opened 11 new sites, comprising eight Lounges and three Cosy Clubs, taking the portfolio to 206 sites. Loungers expect to open a further 19 sites in the current financial year.
Nick Collins, Loungers CEO, said: “I am delighted with our consistent outperformance of the market, thanks to the fantastic efforts of our teams and the hospitality they provide. We are particularly pleased with the strong performance of our new openings and we are on track to open 30 sites this year.
“As our strong sales performance demonstrates, neither uncertainty in respect of the wider UK economy nor consumer attitudes towards discretionary spending have to date impacted our sales. We are continuing to benefit from more people staying local, working from home, and supporting their community and high street, which are trends that we believe are here to stay.
“We are operating in a particularly inflationary environment and we are working hard to mitigate inbound cost pressures and to maintain the value-for-money principles that are so important to our customers. We continue to focus on getting the right balance and take confidence from the positioning of both Lounge and Cosy Club and their market-leading track records.”
Arkell's bought The Eliot Arms, in the thriving village of South Cerney, earlier this year. The seven-bedroom coaching inn with bar and restaurant will be run by new licensee Amanda Connaughton from Barkby Pubs who also runs Arkell’s Bull Hotel in Fairford while the kitchen team will be headed up by the experienced head chef – George Seagroatt.
The first phase of rooms have been completed with seven new ensuite bedrooms, while the historical ground floor has been sensitively refurbished to give The Eliot Arms a modern but traditional pub feel. The Eliot Arms is an historical building and dates back originally to the 1800’s and has since been not only a coaching Inn but also a butchers.
The Arkell family have always lived and worked around Cirencester, however, they have never operated a pub in South Cerney and with the amazing history and heritage of the Eliot Arms they decided to purchase the hotel and carry out a full refurbishment over the summer.
“South Cerney, and particularly, The Eliot, has always been somewhere we would like to be,” said Arkell’s managing director George Arkell. “We are really excited to have had the opportunity to invest in The Eliot Arms and are looking forward to opening the doors to the public on the 21 October”.
