Festive openings for Barracuda

l Barracuda Group chief executive Mark McQuater (left) joins (left to right) managers Kathryn and Chris Hartnett and area manager Carl Malyan at the opening of The Sovereign, Ramsgate

December 13, 2007: The Barracuda Group will invest £2.5m this week as it opens three new acquisitions ahead of the busy Christmas and New Year period.

The Sovereign, in Ramsgate, and The Maskery, in Congleton, will operate under the contemporary Smith & Jones pub brand, and a day to night Barracuda Bar will open in Scunthorpe. This takes the total Barracuda Group estate to 216, with a further 25-plus acquisitions and refurbishments planned for next year.

Barracuda’s chief executive, Mark McQuater, said: “The three new businesses mark the end of another successful year for Barracuda and show the wide geographical spread that our estate now covers.

"Opening any business less than two weeks before Christmas is a challenge, but our property, operations and training teams have pulled out all the stops to ensure that each pub opened on time and to the highest quality.”

Ramsgate resident Kate Crosher suggested the name for the Sovereign, referencing the Royal Sovereign (IV) paddle steamer that ran between London and Ramsgate from 1948. The pub’s exterior sign and interior design includes images of the Royal Sovereign.

The Barracuda Group Smith & Jones estate now stands at 108, from Inverness down to Exmouth, and Scunthorpe takes the developing Barracuda Bar estate to 24, covering an area from Scarborough down to Newquay.

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