Family-run Wirral hospitality group Strange & Co extends its portfolio to 10 as it secures £850,000 bank funding to reopen another pub, creating 35 jobs. Tony McDonough reports

Family-owned pubs group Strange & Co has secured £850,000 of bank funding to acquire its 10th pub.

Wirral-based Stange & Co already operates a number of establishments in Wirral and North Wales. They include The Jug & Bottle in Heswall, The Ship in Parkgate and The Fox & Hounds in Barnston. 

In June LBN revealed how the venture had secured a £190,000 finance deal through Bathgate Business Finance to refurbish the Ring O’ Bells in West Kirby.

Now, with the backing of NatWest, the firm is buying and reopening the Brookhouse Mill in Denbigh in North Wales. Its portfolio across the Welsh border also includes the Cottage Loaf in Llandudno and the Erskine Arms in Conwy.

This latest deal will see Stange & Co transform the Brookhouse Mill into a food and drink outlet, creating 35 full and part-time jobs in the process.

Stange & Co. is planning its “comprehensive but sympathetic” refurbishment of the building over the next 12 months. It is looking to add a sun terrace and replacement garden room with an ambition to open in the summer of 2025.

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Daniel McLennan, managing director at Stange & Co, said: “People are at the heart of this business, and we are excited for this opportunity to bring both new employees and customers into the Stange & Co family.

“We are tremendously thankful to NatWest who continue to support our growth as a business. The team we work with have been great in taking the time to understand the business and the lasting memories we are hoping to bring to new communities.”

Ruth Kirby, relationship manager at NatWest, added: “Stange & Co is a wonderful community-focused business that we’re proud to offer our continued support to its ambitious growth strategy.”