Brighton pub chain founder Gavin George has stepped down as chief executive of Laine and will become a board member at parent company Punch.
Gavin George, 58, started the Laine Pub Company – then known as Zelgrain – almost 30 years ago in the 1990s. It became InnBrighton in a £13 million merger with a similar local firm C-Side in 2007.
The chain has since expanded – geographically into London and Birmingham and by diversifying into brewing beer as well as pouring pints. It generates annual revenues of more than £50 million.
One of the aims of the business has been for each pub to have its own distinct feel, from the Fortune of War, on the seafront, to the Fiddler’s Elbow, in Boyces Street, and to the Hope and Ruin, in Queen’s Road, Brighton.
In Hove, the portfolio includes the Freemasons, the Ancient Mariner and the Old Albion – as well as the Thomas Kemp and the Sidewinder, in Kemp Town.
Other venues include the North Laine Brewhouse, formerly the Gloucester night club, as well as the Open House and the Signalman either side of London Road railway station.
Laine owns more than 50 pubs in all, with more than 30 of those in its Brighton and Hove heartland.
Laine pubs managing director Russell Danks will lead the management team, supported by Martin Entwistle, managing director of the brewing division, while Mr George becomes a non-executive director of Punch Pubs and Co.
Mr George, a Brighton University graduate, said: “I have had the most amazing 27 years, leading a wonderfully progressive business with incredible pubs, teams and customers.
“I’m grateful to everyone who has played a part in Laine’s success and for supporting me through the good times and the challenging.
“I’d particularly like to thank all the managers and staff of the myriad pubs, clubs, bars and breweries we have operated over the years for their creativity, energy and resilience, more recently in the face of unprecedented challenges such as the pandemic, wars and economic uncertainty.
“I’d also like to thank the people of Brighton and Hove whose constancy from day one and unique outlook on the world have been the inspiration and facilitator for much of what Laine has achieved.
“I leave leadership of the Laine pub and beer business in the hands of a very capable management team but am pleased to be continuing to provide them with support and guidance while also being able to focus on other opportunities in an exciting sector that never ceases to amaze me with its creativity and resilience.”
Trade publication the Morning Advertiser quoted Punch chief executive Clive Chesser saying: “Gavin’s achievements in building the Laine pub and beer business over the past 27 years are to be admired.
“I would like to congratulate him and thank him for everything that he has done so far for Laine, Punch and in fact the wider industry.
“Gavin has been a trailblazer in creating experiential pub offers, being way ahead of the curve in many respects.
“I am delighted that the business will continue to benefit from his knowledge, wisdom and creative input for many years to come in his non-executive capacity.”
