RedCat Pub company adds Brecon Beacons National Park hotel to growing portfolio

RedCat Pub Company has added the Castle of Brecon, a pub hotel based within the Brecon Beacons National Park, to its expanding portfolio.

Former Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand launched RedCat in February 2021, and the investment vehicle has since invested in acquiring sites. It now has more than 100 pubs and pub hotels on its books.

The Castle of Brecon is formed around the historic castle of the same name, which dates back to 1089 and was built by the brother of William the Conqueror. It has 43 guest bedrooms, large gardens, views over the Brecon Beacons mountain range, and function spaces for conferences and weddings that cater for more than 300 guests.

The hotel will be operated by RedCat's subsidiary, the Coaching Inn Group, which the vehicle acquired last August, taking the portfolio to 26 coaching inns in market towns across the UK.

Anand said he is “delighted by the rapid growth of the Coaching Inn Group” and that the team "is focusing on running high-quality pub hotels across the country". He added: “Brecon Beacons National Park is an area of great natural beauty and I look forward to further building our portfolio in popular tourism destinations.”

RedCat began acquiring sites at a time when many pub and pub hotel operators were reeling after long periods shuttered under successive lockdowns in 2020 and early 2021.

Acquisitions to date include an estate of 42 pubs in England and Wales from Slug & Lettuce and Yates’s owner, Stonegate. Half of these pubs are situated in prime central London areas.

The company is backed by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, which raised at least £200m of equity to invest in the UK pub sector.