Brakspear boosts managed estate with flagship pub

September 3, 2014

Pictures above: Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive and the Chequers, Marlow

Henley brewer and pub operator Brakspear is boosting its fledgling managed estate by bringing the Chequers in Marlow across from its tenanted and leased operation.

The Chequers, a large food-led pub on Marlow High Street, is one of the flagships of the Brakspear estate, delivering a consistently strong performance.  It has been run since 2010 by multiple-site lessees Tailor Made Dining (TMD), who are exiting the pub in order to reshape their business, which includes two other Brakspear sites.

Brakspear is retaining the current Chequers staff team and food and drink offer, including the butcher’s table where diners choose their steak, with the aim of keeping the change “almost invisible” to customers.

Chief executive Tom Davies said: “Tailor Made Dining have done a great job with the Chequers and turned it into one of our top pubs. We’re delighted to be bringing it into our managed estate.

“The pub has a large and loyal customer base in and around Marlow and we intend to keep it that way. Over time, we may look to incorporate dishes that have worked in our other managed pubs, particularly the Bull in Henley, which is a similar High Street, food-oriented business.”

Brakspear and Tailor Made Dining reopened the Chequers in 2010 after a sizeable redevelopment. TMD director Ted Docherty said, “We have enjoyed taking the Chequers from a closed site to the thriving business it is today. It will be a good fit within Brakspear’s managed division, and the move suits TMD’s plans going forward.

“We will continue to work alongside Brakspear at our two other pubs, the Crown at Playhatch and the White Hart at Nettlebed.”

As well as the Chequers, Brakspear’s managed division includes the Bull on Bell Street in Henley; the Porch House in Stow-on-the-Wold and the Running Horses in Mickleham, Surrey.  All four sites are overseen by operations manager Mat Aket.