Pub chain to invest £3.7m in revamp

Among the pubs to benefit will be the North Briton in Aycliffe Village, near Newton Aycliffe, which will undergo a £295,000 revamp and be renamed the Village Pub.

Punch is investing in up to 54 pubs across the region during this financial year, which ends in August.

And it is expecting to continue its rolling programme of investment, with a similar amount of expenditure expected in the next financial year.

Each investment reaps potentially massive returns, with takings at the Black Swan, in Parkgate, Darlington, soaring by 70 per cent following its £154,000 refurbishment.

Regional operations director Chris Welham said: "Working closely with our retailers, the North-East will continue to be an important focal point for investment in our pubs.

"We invested £3.9m in the past financial year, as there is so much opportunity with the estate of pubs we have in the region."

Punch has invested £200,000 in the Royal Oak, in Consett, £165,000 at the Lord Nelson, in Gainford, near Darlington, and £150,000 in the Kicking Cuddy, in Coxhoe, all in County Durham.

Schemes in the pipeline include £200,000 at the Bird in Hand in Trimdon Village, and developing the Slaters Arms in Darlington, which is currently closed while Punch finds a new tenant.

Punch bought Hartlepool-based Pubmaster in 2003 in a deal worth about £1.2bn, in which it acquired the group's stable of 3,200 leased and tenanted pubs.

Last year, Punch Taverns posted a 28 per cent rise in profits and pledged to spend millions on acquisitions and refurbishments.

In the past financial year, it spent £5.8m on acquisitions in the North-East, including the purchase of the Eaglescliffe pub, near Stockton-on-Tees, which it subsequently refurbished at a cost of £200,000.

Punch also bought the Spirit pub group for £2.7bn at the end of last year, making it the UK's largest pub group and acquiring pubs such as the Gretna Green Hotel, in Newton Aycliffe, and Scruffy Murphy's, in Durham.