insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 11 - January 2016 | Page 33

FOOD+DRINK

By the locals, for the locals, of the locals

THE GEORGE AT BURPHAM

A victim of Pubco’s rampant pre-recession
pub sweep, which saw so many local pubs
fall foul to unsustainable rents and subsequent
shut-downs, the George at Burpham –
formerly The George and Dragon – a pub
that serves three villages in West Sussex,
seemed doomed until a few business-minded
villagers decided to take matters into their own
hands. Polly Humphris chatted to David King,
chairman of the Burpham and Warningcamp
Pub Company, to find out how a community
stepped in and saved their village pub from
ruin.
Can you tell me how you buying the pub
with some of your fellow villagers came
about?
I’ve lived in Warningcamp, a village near to the
pub since 1987, so I’ve known the pub under
various ownerships. Under the last landlords,
the pub was actually owned by Pubco, a
commercial property investment company who
specialise in buying pubs. The landlords, who
I’d become friends with over the years, got
in touch with me and told me they had some
problems – Pubco had pushed the rent sky
high to a totally unsustainable level. But, then
it transpired that post-recession, Pubco itself
couldn’t meet its own debts and the pub was
called in by the bank.
I put together an Enterprise Investment
Scheme, which requires a minimum of four
people, so myself, two fellow villagers – Simon
Lay and Bill Tustin - together with the original
couple negotiated a lower and fairer price with
the bank and bought the pub.

Fantastic! What was the reaction from the
locals like?
It very soon became clear that there was a lot
of goodwill behind the pub; eight local families
came forward and said they’d like to chip in as
shareholders, so there are now 12 local families
who all have a stake in the business. Together
we are the Burpham and Warningcamp Pub
Company.
What changes have you made to the pub?
We launched the pub under its fresh new look
and name in July 2013, having completely
gutted and redesigned it. It’s an altogether
friendlier and more ‘pubby’ pub now with a
much lighter and cleaner environment. It’s
very much the sort of place that families feel
welcome in and that anyone would be happy
to visit on their own. The idea behind the name
change was to announce to everyone that this
was a new pub with a fresh start ahead of it.
Our strapline is: “By the locals, for the locals, of
the locals.” Everybody who works at the pub
lives within a 5-mile radius.
What sort of food can people who visit
expect?
We serve very good, hearty pub food. Our
burger is exceptional and our local meat
supplier is one of our shareholders, so we get
the best meat you can get. You’ll find steak,
fish and chips, and burgers on the menu, but
we serve seasonal dishes too and our menu
changes daily to reflect what’s available locally.
We also make sure there’s a lot of choice for
vegetarians. All of our suppliers, bar two, are

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local and our real ales are from Arundel, Lewes
and Horsham, plus we get our wine advice
from Richard Esling, who’s a Master of Wine in
Arundel. He’s helped us put together a slightly
eclectic and, crucially, affordable wine list.
Do you feel that you’re attracting people
from further afield; is that something you’d
like to do?
We’d love people from further afield to be
aware that we exist. We extend our warm
welcome to everyone – including muddybooted walkers and their well-behaved dogs!
We are getting people travelling to the pub
from further afield for our renowned Sunday
lunches, which is a great sign, and we were
very quickly recognised by Sawday’s, who
bestowed upon us a ‘Community Pub Award’.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far and
would urge anyone to pop in for a pint!
The George at Burpham
Main Street
Burpham
Nr Arundel
West Sussex
BN18 9RR
01903 883131
www.georgeatburpham.co.uk
/TheGeorgeAtBurpham
@GeorgeAtBurpham