Coach House Inns is a growing collection of boutique pubs with rooms, located principally along the English/Welsh borders in an area known as ‘the Marches’.
The group plans to put in place a small, central team to relieve individual pubs of the time-sapping administrative tasks that can overwhelm management, allowing the on-site staff to focus on delivering great food, clean, comfortable rooms and great customer service.
Rather than having a general manager, each pub will be led by a chef patron who will run the kitchen and oversee front-of-house. The pubs will retain an independent feel, setting their own menus and adapting their offering to the specific wants of their individual customers.
Run by an experienced team of financiers and operators, Coach House Inns aims to create a small group of boutique pubs that benefit from shared economies of scale, whilst retaining an independent feel.
The first phase of investment will see the group grow from 2 pubs to 8, with a central head office responsible for all systems and controls.
The key to the success of this investment is the identification and acquisition of the right pubs. Pubs at the right price, in the right locations, with rooms and an opportunity to improve on the current customer experience.
Each pub will have an executive chef in place, who will share in the success of the pub. They will have free reign to tailor their own menu and give their establishment an individual feel.
Each site will be run by a chef patron responsible for the whole customer experience and will retain the feel of an independent pub.
Other than the day-to-day operations and systems management, the key task for 2016 is identifying the right pubs to add to the group.
The first 2 pubs are both homely pubs with great food and comfortable rooms.
The Fox and Hounds in Llancarfan is an attractive village pub with a restaurant and 8 en-suite bedrooms. It is situated in the heart of the village next to the 15th century St Cadoc’s Church, which is becoming famous for its wonderful wall paintings that are being steadily and painstakingly revealed by experts.
The Riverside at Aymestrey is situated deep in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside just on the southern edge of the Mortimer Forest, yet still close to Ludlow and Hereford. Authentic and atmospheric, the 16th century black and white building is surrounded by the natural beauty of the River Lugg valley.