Overall ranking: 86 (76)

Pubs ranking:7 (9)

Mark McQuater - Snapshot

Mark McQuater is chief executive of the Barracuda Group, which he founded in 2000 with three other investing directors. In just six years he has built up the managed pub and bar company into a £109m-turnover business with more than 190 venues and approaching 4,000 employees.

It operates four brands – the upmarket Smith & Jones; the student-focused Varsity; Barracuda Bars (a South African-themed sports chain), and the newer Juniper Inns, a brand for neighbourhood locals.

Mark McQuater - Career guide

McQuater, who is 46 this August, started as a qualified chartered accountant.

He took his first key industry position at JD Wetherspoon, where he served as managing director from 1994 until 1996 when he moved to the Rank Group to resurrect Tom Cobleigh, its managed pub company. After a significant rise in profits, the 75-strong brand was sold to the Spirit Group in May 2003 for £106.4m.

McQuater’s next stop was the Greenalls Group, where he boosted the operational performance of its pub and restaurant business prior to its sale to Scottish & Newcastle in 1999 for £1.15b.

He then teamed up with members of his executive team at Greenalls to found the Barracuda Group in July 2000, with backing from venture capital firm PPM Ventures, the private equity arm of the Prudential.

Mark McQuater - What we think

Barracuda’s voracious appetite has seen it grow rapidly from a newborn tiddler into a very big fish that quickly found its way into the top 10 of managed pub groups. It was identified in this year’s Sunday Times Profit Track listing as one of 10 companies to watch.

McQuater’s meteoric expansion of the group has netted him and Barracuda a host of awards since 2004, when he was one of five finalists shortlisted for the CBI Entrepreneur of the Year award.

2005 brought two Publican accolades (Managed Pub Company of the Year and Retail Brand of the Year for Varsity).McQuater followed up in 2006 by taking home the Pub and Bar Industry Catey award.

Yet McQuater seemed to be swimming against the tide when he set up a managed pub company from scratch at a time of massive consolidation in the industry and of City infatuation with the tenanted and leased estates.

The Catey judges praised McQuater’s boldness in targeting towns other operators avoided.As one pointed out: “He has been brave enough to tap into the urban market when others wouldn’t.”

McQuater kick-started the Marlow-based company in 2000 with the £50m acquisition of 35 pubs from Enterprise Inns and has pulled off a succession of package deals since.

Just three months later, he snapped up the Ambishus Pub Company for £36.5m. This added 61 pubs in the Southeast of England to the mix and, crucially, brought the Smith & Jones brand into the fold.

The following year, Barracuda gained the Varsity brand with the purchase of 50 pubs and bars from Wolverhampton & Dudley for £37.25m. It made its first foray into Scotland in July 2004 with the opening of a £1.5m pub in Perth

In June 2005, when PPM was seeking an exit from its five-year investment, McQuater achieved a £262m refinancing deal with new backer, Charterhouse Capital Partners.

The group continues to open pubs at a rate of up to 30 a year. McQuater hopes to expand the Smith & Jones brand to more than 400 pubs and has also identified 50 potential Varsity sites. 

Last year also marked Barracuda’s move into the country local market when it opened its first two Juniper Inns. It has since rolled out the brand to its estate of 44 unbranded pubs.

In the midst of this buying frenzy, Barracuda has also made time to launch its own namesake dish – the Barracua Bake – along with its own beer brand, Barracuda Bitter, in concert with Swindon brewer, Archers.

Mark McQuater – Further information

Barracuda profile on CatererSearch

Barracuda Bars official website