Draco Pub Co, the group that has transformed three former West Country coaching inns into award-winning upmarket pubs, is set for ambitious expansion after securing £4m in a refinancing deal with Barclays.
The Pilton-based business already has a fourth property lined up for conversion following the runaway success of its three previous projects, which include the Grade II listed riverside Timbrell’s Yard pub in Bradford on Avon.
Timbrell’s Yard and the firm’s two Somerset pubs – The Swan in Wedmore and The White Hart in Somerton – have been transformed to provide luxury bedrooms, stylish interiors and award-winning kitchens. 
Timbrell’s Yard, a former pub and club, now has14 rooms, a 100-cover restaurant, pictured,and a function room seating 120 as well as a bar.
Locally sourced food is central to the four-year-old business’s philosophy, and the kitchens are overseen by executive chef Tom Blake, who has built a network of West Country farmers and suppliers to produce critically acclaimed menus.
The pubs, which have won awards from the Good Food Guide and drinks trade publication The Morning Advertiser among others, also champion local ales and ciders.
Managing director and co-founder Rob Greacen said: “We are really pleased with the refinancing of the group and very excited about the next stage of our growth. We are now well placed to expand further in the South West with our unique take on the hospitality industry.”
Rob formed the company with James Brooke-Webb as part of the Draco group, which they had set up in 2005. Sister companies in the group are Draco Property, a property investment, development and asset management company with a commercial portfolio in a number of UK cities, and River Cottage, a group of companies built around the Channel 4 TV series hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and which includes the River Cottage Canteen restaurant chain, and a 60-acre farm in Devon hosting one of the country’s largest cookery and chef schools.
Draco Pub Co’s first conversion as The Swan in Wedmore, which they bought from Punch.
Rob said: “The villagers of Wedmore saw the semi-derelict coaching inn go from an ugly duckling into the kind of establishment that wouldn’t be out of place in Notting Hill.”
Draco was advised on the refinancing by corporate finance specialists at West of England accountants Bishop Fleming, who worked with Draco’s management to help secure the funding and create new opportunities for growth.
The deal with Barclays replaced the group’s existing debt and provides further funding to assist new growth.
Bishop Fleming corporate finance partner James Finnegan said: “Draco is a genuinely exciting business with a first-rate management team. The company has built a reputation for creating independent and unique inns which provide first-class food and service in beautiful and relaxed spaces that retain the buildings heritage and charm.
"We have worked with Draco for some time, and its vision and enthusiasm are fundamental to the future development of this ambitious group”.
Barclays relationship director Rob Allum added: “Barclays has the appetite to fund the growth aspirations of businesses such as this which has a strong management team and a clear understanding of the hospitality sector. We are pleased to be supporting Draco with the expansion of their business and we wish them every success now and in the future.”
