Urban & Country Leisure quits country pubs as Lazy Cow hotel & restaurant brand set for aggressive expansion

07-Dec-2011 - Last updated on 19-Mar-2024 at 13:30 GMT

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The Huff Cap in Warwickshire will be sold back to the landlord following UCL's £850k refurbishment of the country pub

On Monday it confirmed the sale of The Marylebone Bar in what is one of the biggest tied-lease deals of the year, and earlier in the year it quit running the White Horse pub in Harpenden. Now, pub and restaurant operator Urban & Country Leisure (UCL) has announced it is to exit country pub locations entirely, focusing on higher-footfall areas.

Along with The Marylebone Bar, UCL is disposing of The Huff Cap in Warwickshire, which will be sold back to the landlord. The decision ties in with the expansion plans of UCL’s Lazy Cow boutique hotel and restaurant brand in market towns and high street locations.

“We had a ten year plan for The Huff Cap and invested a great deal of money, time, resources and goodwill with the local Parish council and the community,” said UCL owner Ross Sanders. However the massive rent on the site, £125,000 per annum, was simply not sustainable for us through these challenging times and profits became marginal.

Greedy landlords

“In the current economic climate it’s unrealistic for landlords not to assist tenants, especially on sites where they are destination focused. People are looking closely at their disposable income, the increased VAT, tough economic conditions and rising fuel costs, all of which will have an impact on customers leisure and hospitality spend when it comes to travelling to destination venues.”

“Surely this is a time for Landlords not to be greedy.”

The Lazy Cow brand

UCL’s first Lazy Cow hotel and restaurant at Warwick opened in November 2010. In its first quarter of trading, the unit posted a first-year turnover of £2.3m with profits in excess of £500k.
The second Lazy Cow in Salisbury was launched three months ago with an investment of over £600k and is already exceeding trading expectations.
Negotiations are currently underway for a third site in the West Midlands which will open in the first quarter of 2012. Sites in Bath, Cheltenham, Cheshire and Bristol are currently being reviewed.

Commenting on the new roll-out, Sanders added: “We predicted last year that the trend would move towards market towns and high streets from the destination country pub as customers focus on getting value for money.

“We are striving to establish The Lazy Cow as a chain of intimate, stylish boutique hotels that have a strong accent on unique, quality accommodation, stylish interiors and exceptional food and drink offerings. Location has also been a key factor in the success.”