The Perfect Match for the Kings Arms Inn, Stockland
Attracting the right tenant for the community
SCPL believes that we now have a unique and historic opportunity to acquire the Kings Arms on behalf of the community and to return it to the heart of the village as a place for social and cultural activities. Our vision for the Kings Arm is that is should once again become a “destination pub” attracting customers from a wide hinterland and also that it should be “more than a pub” – by providing a range of other amenities as the business evolves. We hope that will enable Stockland to regain its reputation as the “go to” village in East Devon.
Central to that vision and in order to achieve all of this, we recognise that we need to engage a tenant who has a proven track record and who is a welcoming host and who is prepared to be involved in the community!
We have frequently been asked “How will you find the right person to run the pub?” and “Won’t it be difficult to find a tenant who is really interested?”.
Our answer remains the same as it has been since we started our campaign to save the pub: we believe that the right tenant is out there, and he/she is searching for their opportunity in the same way as we have been working for ours.
A Unique Opportunity
The chance to manage a pub that is beloved of and owned by the community is a rare opportunity to create something truly special, and the right tenant will be filled with excitement by this prospect. The pleasure of creating a place where the community comes together will be enormously appealing to the right person, and they will be ready to welcome and work with the community to make the pub a success. Our conversations with other community pub groups only serves to confirm this.
The right tenant will recognise the huge potential in the resurgence of the pub food scene. He/she will recognise, as we do, that the key to success lies in providing a food offering that is as innovative as it is delicious and one which caters for a diverse range of tastes and choice. The best locally sourced ingredients, the best local beers, ciders and wines, all brought together to create a pub that is a destination and a showcase for everything East Devon has to offer.
Importantly, because SCPL is a community based organisation and not solely profit driven, we will set the rent at a level to give the tenant both opportunity and incentive to build the business. SCPL will work actively with our chosen tenant to balance the needs of the community with that of being a destination pub.
As we move forward with the share offer and the process of acquiring the pub, we have already started to define our criteria for the tenant selection process.
help from our local advisers
We are very fortunate to have a number of excellent local advisers who have stepped forward and offered both to help us identify candidates and also to work with us on the final selection process. These include individuals with wide experience of the hospitality industry both locally and abroad, as well as experienced pub operators. With their help, we are convinced we can find the perfect match for the King’s Arms, and for our community.
It is most unlikely that this opportunity to restore the Kings Arms will arise again! WE CAN AND WILL GET IT RIGHT!