£50million expansion plans

The Coaching Inn Group – owners of The Royal Oak Hotel in the centre of Welshpool – has announced a £50million expansion project.

The independent hotelier behind a string of historic coaching inns is preparing to double its presence across Britain’s market towns as part of the planned project.

The Coaching Inn Group has clinched a £10m cash injection from the Business Growth Fund which it will use to increase its number of coaching sites from 12 to 25 over the next three years.

Its inns, which include the Royal Oak Hotel, have already mushroomed since last year after an initial £4.5m investment from the fund helped the inn operator to snap up an additional six historic properties.

Kevin Charity, owner of the Lincolnshire-based inn-keeper, said a 33pc increase in sales is due to its tried and tested formula of carefully selecting properties and restoring the sites in line with the character of their local surroundings.

"This latest investment from the Business Growth Fund is testament to the strength of our business model and we’ve now set even more ambitious growth targets. It means that we are on track to achieve our growth plan without financial distractions or cash flow restrictions," Mr Charity added.

The property overhauls include introducing the company's high-end pub-restaurants the Eatery & Coffee House, which is also considered a key source of the Coaching Inn's success.

BGF has £2.5bn of capital to invest in small businesses, and is backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered.