Wed 12th Jun 2013 - Peach makes £1m first move into Birmingham Peach Pub Company makes £1m move into Birmingham: Peach Pub Company, the gastro-pub operator led by Hamish Stoddart and Lee Cash, has made its first foray into Birmingham with a plan to work with Calthorpe Estates in Edgbaston to develop 22 Highfield Road into a new pub opening called Highfield Townhouse. Peach will invest over £1m in the redevelopment of this major architect-designed building, which is the former home of English architect and surveyor Francis WB Yorke, who practised in Birmingham and Stratford-Upon-Avon and wrote a seminal work on the building of pubs, “The Planning and Equipment of Public Houses,” published by The Architectural Press in 1949. The launch of the new gastropub will be overseen by Lee Cash, Peach co-founder, who got his first job as a general manager for Raymond Blanc when he opened Le Petit Blanc in Birmingham. Peach has a current turnover of £20m, having opened its first pub first pub in Warwick in 2002. “After more than ten great years running award-winning gastropubs, we’ve carved out a strong reputation for running great pubs in market towns, as anyone who knows The Rose & Crown in Warwick or The Almanack in Kenilworth knows – they’re all about great food and drink with service to match in relaxed surroundings,” Cash said. “When Calthorpe Estates shared their vision to create a heart of the community where the local community and local people could pop down and enjoy meeting friends and colleagues, we knew that our ethos would fit this perfectly, and offer something different. We’re making a sizeable investment in the project, because it’s our first in the city and we’re excited to be here, no-one more so than me – it’s great to be back.” Jayne Herritty, sales and marketing director at Calthorpe Estates, said: “This latest agreement with Peach will add a new offer to the growing leisure and retail options in the area. Highfield Townhouse will be opposite Simpsons Restaurant and the new cocktail bar and boutique hotel, The Edgbaston, which are all very different and complement one another. We know it will be popular with businesses, residents and visitors to Edgbaston.” The pub will open in Spring 2014.