Entrepreneur Dennis Caygill has already transformed three Punch pubs in Northamptonshire and is on the hunt for another two.

Dennis took on Punch’s Dun Cow, Daventry in December 2007.  “The place was in need of tidying up and needed some personality injecting back in to the place, “comments Dennis.

He has smartened up the pub, added a smoking area at the rear and also invested in a Thai restaurant to capture a different market.

Dennis then decided to take on another local community pub, the Old King’s Head, Long Buckby earlier this year. He followed that with the Pike and Eel, Daventry which had been trading erratically for three years. 

Both pubs needed reviving, and with Punch’s support, Dennis has transformed all them into smart, family friendly venues with live entertainment ensuring that customers constantly have a reason to re-visit.
   
“On Monday nights we have a pool league involving two teams, from each of the three pubs.  Wednesday night is acoustic night, Thursday is karaoke – and we have live music most Fridays and every Sunday,” explains Dennis.

Dennis also has plans to introduce a festival next year with live bands and two outside bars. Dennis comments: “We are expecting 10,000 people and all proceeds will go to the Air Ambulance charity”

Dennis has also made a point of offering crowd-pleasing, value for money lagers.  This offer has been instrumental in regaining the relationships with those drinkers who had drifted away. “It’s about getting the trust back amongst what were our locals,” comments Dennis.

With all three pubs, seeing a huge increase in sales, Dennis’s ultimate plan is to take on another two pubs with Punch, get them up and running to the same level, and then move out to Thailand with his wife, monitoring the pubs with a CCTV link!