Oakman Inns ‘quietly confident' of reaching £4.5m equity target

Oakman Inns' chief investment officer Steven Kenee has said he is "quietly confident" of the pub group reaching its £4.5m equity fund raise target, having received applications for more than £3.6m of shares.

Oakman launched the fund raise just before Christmas aimed at private individuals and has so far welcomed 170 new shareholders.

Kenee added: "To meet all our ambitions, we will require further funding; however, we only want business partners who are interested in long-term, intelligent investment into a sustainable business model."

The group has sites ready for development this year, including existing sites in Buckingham, Wokingham and Epsom and a freehold site in Harpenden. Further announcements are expected soon with several negotiations taking place to further accelerate growth.

Oakman's executive chairman, Peter Borg-Neal (pictured right), said: "We believe that there is a huge unsatisfied consumer demand for premium public houses right across the UK. Large pubs with a strong all-day food offer, a high level of amenity and, most importantly, great people running them is the future of the pub market. We want to play a big part in fulfilling that demand."

Oakman Inns was founded by Borg-Neal in 2007. The group employs around 1,000 people and owns and operates 28 establishments.