Pub & Bar Award winners confirm fourth site

Little & Large Pub Company has signed its second Brakspear pub lease in The Leicester Arms in Penshurst, near Tonbridge, Kent. 

The growing pub company took on The Running Horses in Surrey in early 2022, and has turned the pub into an award-winning operation, being named the UK's best at the 2023 National Pub & Bar Awards.  

In what will be Little & Large's fourth pub, Brakspear is investing in a major refurbishment of The Leicester Arms later this month, with reopening scheduled for early 2024.

"Signing up for our second pub with Brakspear has been an aspiration for a while," says Little & Large co-founder Manu Bhatt. "I really like their approach and the flat structure that means I can talk direct to Tom [Davies, CEO] at any time; you don't get that kind of access at most pub companies."

Double investment

Brakspear is investing £2m in refurbishing two of its leased and tenanted pubs, after signing tenancy agreements with Little & Large and also Friendship and Beer.

Another Surrey pub, The White Bear in Warlingham was taken on by Friendship and Beer this summer. It is currently undergoing a complete makeover designed to create a more open space for drinking and dining, and will reopen at the end of October. 

"This is a serious investment in our L&T estate, and an indicator both of the potential we see in these pubs and the value we place on our partnerships with our tenants," says Davies. "We have many stunning pubs in beautiful locations across the south east, and The Leicester Arms and White Bear are fine examples, but they are only ever as good as the tenants who run them. Working with talented operators is key to our success, and we're delighted to welcome Friendship and Beer, and to extend our relationship with Little & Large to a second pub."

Little & Large and Friendship and Beer have signed turnover tenancy agreements.

You may also be interested in…