Fresh from selling City Pub Group to Young’s in a deal worth £162m, Clive Watson joins The Pub Conference to reveal the story behind building and striking a deal for the premium pub company.

The conference takes place on 26 June at The Ham Yard Hotel, London and will feature a full day of presentations and panels, including Q&As with leaders in the pub and bar sector.

In this session, Watson will also look back on a career in the trade, including eight years as FD at Regent Inns when he boosted profits 20-fold, as well as selling Tup Inns to Massive in 1999 and Capital Pub Company to Greene King in 2011.

The entrepreneur will share the secrets behind building and selling pub groups, and his perspectives on the health and future of the sector.

A Qualified Chartered Accountant who trained at PwC, Watson has spent the last 30 years in the pub retail industry, setting up and leading the boards of small public companies.

He was finance director of Regent Inns when it was listed in 1993 and helped it to expand from 30 to 80 pubs, growing profits to £13m.

In 1998 he set up Tup Inns with Slug & Lettuce founder Hugh Corbett, which they grew to 10 pubs and sold for £4m.

In 2000 Watson set up Capital Pub Company with David Bruce, an EIS start-up which raised £15m of equity and was eventually sold to Greene King for £93m. Most recently he co-founded City Pub Company, which raised £28m of EIS equity, and was sold to Young’s for £162m.

Also on the agenda, sessions from Wetherspoons chairman Sir Tim Martin, Greene King CEO Nick Mackenzie and Stonegate CEO David McDowall. With £100m of new funding from Alchemy Partners, and fresh from being promoted to CEO, Heartwood Collection’s Richard Ferrier will also join The Pub Conference line-up.  

Further highlights include a women leaders panel hosted by Karen Bosher, hospitality consultant and ex Greene King MD, and an innovation showcase panel with The Devonshire, Buzzworks and Little Door & Co. 

This year, MCA’s Pub Conference announces it has a new charity partner, Ask for Angela, an initiative adopted at venues around the UK and internationally to help promote safety and wellbeing for anyone who finds themselves vulnerable.

For more information on the event and the current agenda, and to book your tickets, please click here.