The Derby Arms in Longridge has been bought by The Oakman Group after closing last June.

The gastropub and inn went into administration due to a large financial loss during the coronavirus pandemic.

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The Oakman Group has purchased six pubs from The Seafood Pub Company which will restore 150 jobs.

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Oakman Group CEO Dermot King said: “I am delighted that we have acquired these sites which will be the foundation stone for the third brand within our group – with the Seafood Pub joining the Oakman Inn and Beech House brands within our portfolio.

“Furthermore, these acquisitions will represent the next stage in our strategic development as we look to extend our boundaries beyond our Home Counties heartland.

“We believe that there is significant untapped potential, in the premium pub sector, and I am not placing any upper limits on our ambition.”

Former founder and MD of The Seafood Pub Company, Joycelyn Neve, will be joining the Oakman Group as MD of a new Seafood Pub division, initially based in the North.

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She said: “I have been a huge admirer of the Oakman Group, its ethos and its ambition. They have acquired the cream of the Seafood Pub Company sites and I’m confident that, with the Oakman team’s support, we will prove to be enormously successful. My expectation at this stage is that all six pubs will reopen on May 17th and we will immediately start work on putting our new teams together.

Other pubs in Lancashire being operated by The SeaFood Company also closed their doors including Farmers Arms at Great Eccleston, Fylde and The Oyster & Otter at Feniscowles, Blackburn.

Oakman Group Founder and Chairman, Peter Borg-Neal, added: “Joycelyn is a hugely talented retailer and will, with our support, now have the opportunity to build a bigger and better collection of Seafood Pubs across the UK. She will also add further expertise to our already impressive Oakman Group executive team and will contribute to the wider development of our business.”

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Pubs will be able to open from 12 April the earliest, with people being allowed to sit outside and customers can meet in a group of up to six people from different households or a maximum of two households can meet to form a group of any size.

From 17 May the earliest, hospitality venues can seat customers indoors and parties can be made up of a maximum of six people or two households of any size but groups seated outside must be smaller than 30 people.

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