Oakman Inns appoints administrators
Berkshire-based operator Upham Inns has also acquired 14 pubs from Oakman Inns, doubling its estate to 28.
Oakman Inns and Restaurants and Oakman Dev have filed for administration.
This comes as Upham Inns purchased 14 pubs from Oakman, doubling the size of its estate to 28.
In May, The Restaurant Group announced the purchase of 10 freehold pubs for Brunning & Price from Oakman.
Oakman also sold two pubs to Hertfordshire-based operator McMullen’s in 2024 as part of a strategic review process of the business.
This leaves several sites left in administration, including the George in Ludlow, Shropshire. Yesterday, the pub announced on Instagram that it had ceased trading and was now closed.
Ross Connock, Mark James Tobias Banfield and Tom Crookham of PwC have been appointed as Oakman’s joint administrators.
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Oakman, a history
Earlier this year it was revealed that Oakman Group founder and chief executive Peter Borg-Neal had taken a step back from the company due to illness, with chairman John Leslie taking the helm.
Borg-Neal founded Oakman Inns in 2007, with its first pub, the Akeman, opening in Tring that same year.
Over the past decade the operator has earned a series of awards, including recognition for their training programmes. They were named Pub Brand of the Year at the 2023 National Pub & Bar Awards, and have been consistently ranked in the top 30 of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Business moves
In 2021, the operator snapped up The Seafood Pub Company from administration, but in 2024 it demerged from the pub group, which continued separately under the leadership of Dermot King.
Off the back of the sale, Upham Inns executive chairman Kevin Todd, said: “We have been long term admirers of the Oakman Inns pub estate and the quality of their team and their offer, ever since Peter Borg-Neal founded the group back in 2007.”
At the end of last year Upham Inns saw an uptick in revenue and gross profit in trading results for the financial year ended 31 March 2024, according to The Morning Advertiser. It stated revenue had grown by 4.5% from £18.4m last year to £19.3m.
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