£600K funding to launch new Flying Pig and Lobster venue

LIVERPOOL-based pub and restaurant group Flying Pig & Lobster has opened its third pub.

This is following £600,000 in growth capital funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial.

The new venue, The Viking Pub & Bakehouse, is based in West Kirby and complements two established outlets in Woolton, Liverpool: the Elephant, and The Liberty Tavern.

Established in 2013 by Roy Ellis, Charlotte Kemp and Neil Macleod together with TV celebrity chef Simon Rimmer, Flying Pig & Lobster is focused on developing high-quality and unique restaurants, pubs and bars in select suburban locations.

The group has ambitious plans to expand further through new site openings.

The Viking Pub & Bakehouse’s name, cuisine and design have all been inspired by West Kirby’s Viking heritage.
 
The food has an emphasis on fresh fish and specialty dishes such as sweetheart waffles, smorgasbords as well as breads including cranberry rye, focaccia and house sourdough.
 
The venue has been designed using the Danish idea of Hygge – usually translated into English as ‘cosiness’ – which encapsulates the pleasures of sitting by a fire on a cold night surrounded by warm candlelight, family and good food.

The deal is the 100th Growth Capital funding deal by Santander Corporate & Commercial. Launched in 2011, Santander’s £200m Growth Capital Fund is unique in the UK commercial banking sector and addresses the gap that exists in the funding landscape between traditional bank debt and equity funding.
 
Growth Capital loans are targeted at businesses with annual turnovers of up to £50m which have a demonstrated history of high year-on-year growth in turnover, profit or employment.

The facility is part of the bank’s Breakthrough support programme, which is aimed at fast-growth, ambitious businesses and includes funded overseas trade missions, Masterclass events and also provides graduate interns to SMEs.

Over the past five years, Santander has supported 84 separate enterprises with Growth Capital loans, with this funding helping these businesses create around 6,000 new jobs.

The Viking Pub & Bakehouse has already employed 60 local people who have all received training in partnership with Wirral Metropolitan College.

Roy Ellis, director, Flying Pig & Lobster, said: “Charlotte, Neil, Simon and I have developed a successful and vibrant business in Liverpool.

“We aim to open more pubs and restaurants in towns or busy villages across the north of England. Our previous business, Revolution bars, grew to 75 outlets over a period of 20 years. We aim to grow at a similar pace of 3-4 outlets per year with our latest business.
 
“We are confident the pub in West Kirby will become a popular and unique dining experience and thank the Growth Capital team at Santander for its support in helping us realise this ambition. We aim to make The Viking the best pub for miles around.”

Steve Harrison, growth capital drector, Santander Corporate & Commercial said: “We are very happy to support Roy, Neil, Simon and the team at Flying Pig & Lobster with this new and exciting venture in West Kirby.  

“The firm has strong aspirations to grow and expand both regionally and in the UK, and it’s great that they have been able to get support from our Growth Capital Fund, a cost-efficient form of debt capital aimed at helping established UK businesses to grow faster and create new jobs.”