This page attempts to list all the firms which own or operate more than one pub in this area. Some of these are also brewing firms, others are ‘pubcos’. This list is intended to give an idea of what to expect from each company’s pubs
in this area. For fuller details, see elsewhere, for instance, the back pages of the
Good Beer Guide.
- Admiral Taverns
- Formed 2003, now a big national company with a diverse range of pubs. Range of cask ales in the local pub.
- Pub list
- AG Enterprises
- Formed in 2015. Have bought four (?) Mitchells pubs, which they are progressively doing up.
- Pub list
- Amber Taverns
- Amber Taverns are a Blackpool-based company with 70-odd pubs from Staffordshire to Northumberland. Despite this, they only acquired a single pub in this area in 2013, but they are actively buying. They are very pro-cask ale, but the choice isn’t always very exciting. They are owned by private equity firm LGV and run by the team that used to run Honeycombe Leisure.
- Pub list
- Bravo Inns
- Based in Warrington, with 30-40 pubs mainly between the Ribble and the Mersey but buying and expanding. Low prices and sports TV.
- Pub list
- Brunning & Price
- Chester-based chain, upmarket and food-led but with good beer. Have operated mostly in the midlands but now expanding their scope.
- Pub list
- C2 Investments
- Currently own four pubs, with one in Lancaster and one in Morecambe. All have eight cask ales including Lancaster and Thwaites.
- More...
- Pub list
- Carleton
- A small Morecambe-based company
- Pub list
- Chameleon Pub Company
- A small pubco reflecting one man’s vision. Six pubs (or perhaps pub-restaurants) in Tyneside and Yorkshire and two in our area. All sell cask ale.
- Pub list
- Craft Union Pub Company
- Pubco formed 2015, based in Bamber Bridge. No other information yet.
- Pub list
- Diamond Resorts
- A timeshare company. Bars in their resorts with no real ale.
- Pub list
- English Lakes Hotels
- Five hotels, the two in our area with real ale
- Pub list
- Enterprise Inns
- The nation's biggest pub owner having acquired pubs from various sources. These vary considerably, but familiar brands predominate. One or two pubs are now taking advantage of a deal whereby they can buy direct from micro-brewers, a move to be applauded.
- Pub list
- Fayre Inns
- Small Lancashire firm, specialising in rural destinations. Real ale but little to excite.
- Pub list
- Gill Venning
- Pub list
- Greene King
- This Suffolk brewer has now got two pubs in this area, gradually adding a few guest beers.
- Pub list
- Hydes Brewery
- The old-established Manchester brewery opened a new pub in Lancaster in 2007, far from their other houses, which naturally sells their cask ales.
- Pub list
- Intercontinental Hotels Group
- The former Bass, now a "leisure group". Has disposed of its pubs and breweries, mostly now owns branded hotels with no decent beer.
- Pub list
- Inventive Leisure
- is the Ashton-under-Lyme based company behind Revolution Vodka Bars with one permanently closed pub in our area.
- Pub list
- James Places
- Clitheroe-based firm currently owning three hotels where good beer features (and also a home furnishings shop).
- Pub list
- Kirklands Entertainments
- Small local company. No cask beer.
- Pub list
- Lancaster Lounge & Bars
- A couple of Lancaster entrepreneurs who started off in "lounging" bars and now run two establishments in Lancaster. Real ale never features highly if at all.
- Pub list
- Loungers plc
- Bristol-based, about 150 pubs widespread but only one round here for some distance. Mostly operate under the "Lounge" brand of "continental-style cafe/bar/restaurants".
- Pub list
- Mitchells & Butlers
- The last lot of former Bass pubs were spun off to a new firm taking the name of an old brewery. Branded pub chains; one pub locally, with a token cask ale.
- Pub list
- Marstons
- The former Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, renamed after a more glamorous subsidiary. Whatever the name on head office, the Jennings name has the highest profile round here. Nearly all their pubs have cask beer, occasionally with beers from other companies. There are few in this area, but they are still buying, so this may change.
- Pub list
- Mitchells
- A former local brewer. Went into liquidation in April 2019
- More...
- Pub list
- private
- means a traditional free house, ie, the owner has no other pubs. They are usually owned by individuals (who are not named here to avoid falling foul of the Data Protection Act) rather than companies.
- Pub list
- Provincial Hotels and Inns
- Established by by hospitality management specialists Onecall Hospitality in June 2016 to acquire 11 Mitchells pubs. Have sold several: are now (Nov 2019) selling the rest.
- Pub list
- Punch
- One of the giant pubcos. Plenty of real ale, but too much of it is dull. Currently selling quite a few pubs.
- Pub list
- Robinsons
- A well-known brewer.
- Pub list
- Inns & Leisure
- Based in Preston. About 20 pubs and hotels, two in Lancaster. Beer-lovers should generally avoid.
- Pub list
- S Lakeland Caravans
- Owns a string of caravan sites and holiday chalet parks around Morecambe Bay, where bars usually feature but cask beer doesn't.
- Pub list
- Samuel Smith
- Only one pub, with no cask ale
- Pub list
- Seafood Pub Company
- Established 2011, with the intention of having 10 premises in 5 years. So far have three, one in our area, the others in east Lancashire. All are pub-restaurants concentrating on
world seafood
.
- Pub list
- Spirit
- Spun off twice from Punch: concentrates on branded managed pubs. Real ale mostly present but mostly not very exciting.
- Pub list
- Star Pubs and Bars
- The former pub business of Scotish & Newcastle Breweries, now owned by Heineken. Run very much as tied houses (though former S&N subsidiary Theakston is always available alongside the Caledonian and John Smiths) with a limited choice of “outside” beers. Many have no cask ale.
- Pub list
- Stonegate Pub Company
- Founded 2010, acquiring pubs from other pubcos. Now owns 500 pubs including branded (Yates, Scream, etc) and unbranded — seems to be tilting to the latter. Two pubs in this area, both with cask ale.
- Pub list
- TCG Acquisitions
- A subsidiary of Alchemy, a private equity company. Formed in 2005 with a block of pubs from Spirit but has bought and sold a lot. Only one pub around here so far, with cask ales.
- Pub list
- Thwaites
- Leapt into the position of the area's biggest pub-owner by taking over Yates & Jackson (a local brewer) in 1984. Nearly all of their pubs around here sell cask beer. Recently, pubs have improved choice, and more are of acceptable quality.Most of the beer now comes from Marstons (whatever the branding), a little from their own microbrewery and a very small amount from elsewhere.
- Pub list
- Trust Inns
- Based in Chorley but with a national spread of pubs. Have picked up an odd rag-bag of ex-national brewers pubs, which remain an odd rag-bag.
- Pub list
- Weston Castle
- A newish company buying a number of pubs from Mitchells and Thwaites. Committed to traditional pubs, where “traditional” includes karaoke and plasma screeens, but probably nothing to interest a discerning drinker.
- Pub list
- J D Wetherspoon
- A familiar branded chain, mostly big pubs with low prices and a good range of beers - but quality varies considerably from place to place.
- Pub list
- Whitbread
- Former brewer now leisure chain, retains a few pub-restaurants attached to hotels: no real ale.
- Pub list
