Oakman Group to grow pub and restaurant estate by 25%

Multi-site pub and restaurant operator Oakman Group has secured a refinancing deal and is set to increase the size of its estate by 25%.

In a trading update the company, which operates 36 venues across the UK, said it had its "strongest ever pipeline" of new sites lined up.

It is due to open two new pubs in the next two months, in Buckingham and Tring, ahead of further expansion.

To support its growth Oakman Group has completed a £29m refinance of its freehold estate, with Cynergy Bank providing funding of £18m.

Steven Kenee, chief investment officer at Oakman Group, said: "The transaction significantly reduces our cost of capital, simplifies our corporate structure, and further strengthens the foundations from which our ambitious plans for the group will grow."

Despite the impact of the Omicron variant on festive trade, sales for the 31 weeks to 6 February were £37.9m – a 74.3% growth on last year when pubs were forced to close and 28% growth on the same period in 2020.

Oakman Group employs more than 1,400 people and has launched a Chef Academy based at the Woburn restaurant with rooms in a bid to tackle staff shortages in the hospitality industry, designed to offer people the chance to retrain in a new career with a guaranteed job at the end of the course.

Oakman Group opened its first pub in Tring in 2007.