Amber Taverns to open 12 new pubs a year after £24m funding deal
Lancashire pub company Amber Taverns plans to open 12 new pubs a year after it secured a £24m funding deal with Lloyds Bank.
The Blackpool-based business currently has 80 venues across Northern England, the Midlands and North Wales.
The new deal - which sees the pub operator extend its existing credit facility with Lloyds Bank by £2.75m - was accepted under the Government's National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS), an initiative launched by HM Treasury in March to help companies further reduce their borrowing costs by one percentage point.
Founded in 2005, Amber Taverns posted sales of £25.4m in 2011 and expects to see turnover exceed £32m this year.
It specialises in running wet-led community pubs.
Amber Taverns chairman Clive Preston said: "We are on course to own 100 pubs within two years and then we will see just how far we can go after that.
"At Amber Taverns, we've proved conclusively that the ‘wet-led pub' can thrive with a quality offering in the right location.
"We are succeeding by giving our customers what they want - value-for-money and the best sporting events in some terrific venues.
"As a result, each of our pubs now has an average profit of over £100,000 per annum.
"A major part of our success has been the on-going support and guidance we've received from Lloyds Bank's Liverpool office, which has an outstanding knowledge of this sector and the requirements of our business."
Ashley Suter, relationship director from Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets for Merseyside, North Wales and West Lancashire, said: "We're actively looking for more entrepreneurial mid-sized companies like Amber Taverns across the region to support their growth ambitions."
Amber employs 20 full-time staff at its headquarters in Blackpool, with each licensee employing their own staff under Amber's operator agreement. The company underwent a successful management buy-out in 2010, which was supported by LGV Capital.
By Neil Gerrard
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