The Apsley House on Auckland Road West in Southsea has reopened after a combined £120,000 refurbishment funded by licensee Kate Thatcher and Admiral Taverns. The works add an expanded kitchen and a fuller food offer, repositioning the pub as a family and dog-friendly community hub.

Inside, the decor has been refreshed, while outside the pub has new lighting, signage, outdoor menu boards and a fresh coat of paint. The pub reopened on 19 September after a three-week closure, and local coverage of the reopening put the works at £80,000.

Admiral Taverns, which owns the pub, is a Chester-headquartered community pub company owned by Proprium Capital Partners with around 1,350 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales. For the 53 weeks to 1 June 2025 it reported group turnover of £210.4 million and underlying EBITDA of £68.9 million.

Thatcher took over the pub last year after many years in hospitality, working behind the bar and in training roles. She previously ran an antiques and vintage furniture business that supplied decor to pubs in the area.

The expanded kitchen now prepares an on-site menu of fish and chips, a ploughman’s lunch, home baked savouries and a weekly Sunday roast, plus a new pizza menu cooked in a recently installed oven. Drinks include cask ales, premium draught lagers and ciders.

Thatcher plans regular quiz nights, supper clubs, DJs and live music, alongside fundraising events such as meat raffles for the RNLI, Prostate Cancer UK and the Poppy Appeal.

The structural driver is licensee co-investment alongside pub company capital, funding a one-off refurbishment that adds a kitchen-led food offer to what had been a drink-led community pub.

“Renovating the pub has been a real labour of love since we took over last year, and I couldn’t be happier with how it has turned out,” said Kate Thatcher, licensee at the Apsley House.

“Kate and her team have put a great deal of care and hard work into making this project a success,” said Phil Mardon, business development manager at Admiral Taverns.

For the sector, the Apsley House shows tenanted pubs using shared investment to add kitchens and food menus to community locals.

Source: Beer Guild / Portsmouth News / Morning Advertiser