The Mulberry Pub Company

Looking for the best food , in a warm and welcoming environment delivered with the very best service? Want to meet with friends? Celebrate a special occasion? Whatever the event, a warm welcome awaits at a Mulberry Pub Company venue.


Our Purpose Our purpose is to acquire mainly predominantly freehold rural destination pubs, or leaseholds which offer an excellent opportunity, for shareholder return in investment. We are funded by private investors via an Enterprise Investment Scheme. The Board of Directors and management team have a very broad experience of both the pub sector and also within the necessary disciplines of the industry which will add value to shareholders. The Directors have been employed by FTSE 100 companies such as Marstons and Bass at Board and Retail Director levels. The senior management team, led by Bernie Taylor MD, has also run it’s own successful award winning gastropub company in the Midlands. Shareholders will benefit from the team’s experience of acquisitions, cost effective design, refurbishments and openings, brand development, strategy, P & L control and delivery, tax and business turnaround. It is intended that pubs will be chosen which follow are attractive, rural destination pubs located either on, or near, to busy roads or near to popular attractive tourist locations, with large attractive beer gardens. These will be poised to benefit increasingly from the changes in the pub sector such as the smoking ban, increase in eating out patterns, and the increasing influence of ethical consumer on areas such as food miles and carbon footprints. All of the pubs will be between 55% to 75% food led, and all food is cooked from fresh, with local provenance where possible. These will appeal to discerning consumers, with A / B demographics, who actively seek out eating destinations with high standards of food, drink and service at reasonable prices. In order to return value to shareholders a mixture of predominantly freeholds will be chosen which either require: No refurbishment, but business turnaround in terms of wet and dry GPs, effective targeted marketing, strong supply chain and employee wage control in order to deliver quicker P & L improvement a small refurbishment makeover to freshen the ambience and business turnaround as stated above cost engineered full refurbishment for closed or poorly trading outlets which require staff recruitment and training, and brand development. Substantial, attractive buildings will be chosen with room for operational growth, which will give maximum return on investment whilst presenting maximum customer facing impact. freeholds will be geographically grouped close enough to benefit from economies of supply chain , close management supervision, and being able to utilise maximum staff development and training, whilst not cannibalising each other’s trade. The Directors believe that the management experience, track record and long working relationship of the senior management team demonstrates its ability to: locate appropriate freeholds for acquisition and development, manage and deliver 6 – 12 week cost effective refurbishments produce an increase in capital growth deliver profit levels to provide dividend targets deliver minimum GP levels of 70% through established supply chain economies of scale deliver consistently high standards in terms of brand development, food, drink and retail service ability to deliver fully operational sites quickly to market
An experienced operator with companies such as Bass and Marstons, Bernie’s last corporate role was that of Director of the UK nationwide Edwards and Loaf brands. Slavishly devoted to ignoring the subsequent onslaught of expanding waistline, she is determined to pursue her goal of perfecting the perfect sharing Crème Brulee and an excellent range of whiskies (Laphroig being a firm favourite). The original brand template was set up in another company set up in 2004 by Bernie. The brand template is now being rolled out within Mulberry Pub Co (UK) plc. Her two daughters also work part time in the business. When not at work, Bernie likes to indulge her love of photography, organic fruit and vegetable gardening, and the long lost art of playing the saxophone badly.		Bernie Taylor Director

Susan Phillips is an experienced corporate financier specialising in development capital for unquoted companies in a growth phase, both in terms of raising funds initially and working with companies in order to assist in the achievement of their objectives. In particular, over the last 19 years, she has worked with many companies in the leisure industry and is highly experienced in the brewing and pubs sector. Susan is also a Director and Council Member of the EIS Association, the official trade body for the EIS, in which subject she is a technical expert and has used regularly to assist in fund-raisings. Her role will be to support the strategic development of the company, assist with acquisitions, due diligence and to monitor the EIS status of the Company on an ongoing basis growth on behalf of shareholders.		Susan Phillips NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Initially qualified in International relations (Law), and now based in London, Richard is a director of many companies, including Edison Consulting, through which funds have been raised for this EIS scheme. He has a wealth of experience in the pub / country dining field, and previous ventures have included fund raising for the very successful Capital Pub Co EIS scheme and Convivial Pubs. He also has many useful contacts in the farm shop and micro brewing field which will be utilised during growth and roll out of this brand. A keen sportsman, when not mountaineering, he is an experienced gourmand, who is noted for his mean chop (karate !)		Richard Powe Non exec Director
Helen has a breadth of experience of P & L responsibility ranging from FTSE 50 company (Bass), an independent entrepreneurial company (Mulberry Pub Co Ltd) to also of setting up and running a previous EIS company (Rutland Pub Co Ltd). Whilst in Bass ( later to become Mitchell’s & Butlers), she was responsible as Finance Manager for the Edwards brand, which had a P & L turnover in excess of £50m, reporting into the Retail Director Bernie Taylor. The Edward’s brand consisted of 45 units throughout the UK, some of which had multi million pound turnovers. Her areas of responsibility include covering P & L reporting and control, cash forecasting, supplier negotiation, payroll, year end procedures and acquisition appraisal processes. She was also Finance Director of Rutland Pub Company Ltd, an EIS company, which was eventually sold to Marstons in August 2007 for £5.5m (4 pubs).		Helen Swindell Director of Finance
Peter is fun loving and naturally enthusiastic person who loves to interact with people. He has worked in the industry for fifteen years and brings fun and hard work to each venue. When he’s not behind a bar he loves to be socialising in front of one! His passion is watching his beloved Leicester City play football.		Peter Davinson Manager The Crown & Plough