Fri 13th Aug 2021 - RedCat Pub Company buys Coaching Inn Group Exclusive – RedCat Pub Company buys Coaching Inn Group: RedCat Pub Company, the vehicle founded and chaired by Rooney Anand to invest in the UK pub sector, has acquired The Coaching Inn Group, which operates 18 historic coaching inns across the UK and is led by Kevin Charity. The acquired sites are located predominantly in historic market towns, in areas including the Cotswolds, Peak District, Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Cambridgeshire. The Coaching Inn Group, founded in 1996 by Kevin Charity, has its roots in Boston, Lincolnshire, and has a track record of restoring historic coaching inns to their former glory, with a few modern-day twists. Since its launch, the group has embarked on reinvigorating many iconic buildings within some of the UK’s most famous market towns. Having secured investment from the Business Growth Fund in 2015, the group has executed a successful growth strategy, acquiring more than ten sites in the past six years. Chief executive Kevin Charity and chief finance officer Edward Walsh will continue to lead and run the business within RedCat, and to build its presence, scale and momentum. RedCat will help and support The Coaching Inn Group to continue its expansion throughout the UK, and the combination of The Coaching Inn Group, coupled with RedCat’s expertise and Oaktree’s funding, will enable RedCat to rapidly expand within the UK pub hotels sector. RedCat was launched in February 2021 and is demonstrating strong momentum, with this latest transaction building on RedCat’s acquisition of 42 pubs across England and Wales from Stonegate Pub Company, and some single-site transactions, including the recent acquisition of the New Dungeon Ghyll pub hotel in the Lake District. RedCat’s strategy is to acquire quality retail and tenanted pubs, as well as pub hotels across the UK. It aims to provide the operational expertise and capital investment pubs need to get back on their feet and accelerate their growth as the sector recovers from the covid pandemic. The company’s approach is highly flexible, allowing it to acquire single pub assets, all the way through to larger-scale businesses and pub companies. RedCat Pub Company executive chairman Rooney Anand said: “I’m delighted The Coaching Inn Group is becoming part of RedCat. It’s a business I’ve long admired and Kevin Charity is a class act. I look forward to building our pub hotels business and building our business together.” Kevin Charity, chief executive of The Coaching Inn Group, said: “I’m very excited at the prospect of our business becoming part of RedCat. It’s a great opportunity to be part of an entrepreneurial venture and to work with such talented and seasoned pub executives. I’m confident that with RedCat’s support, we can continue our momentum and grow our footprint of historic pub hotels.”