Portobello Brewery has announced that it has started managing an additional 13 freehold pubs located across the London villages and suburbs.

Westow House, Crystl Palace. Photograph: by Ewan-M licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The sites include the flagship Westow House, in Crystal Palace, which has recently added 23 en-suite bedrooms, with other venues at locations including Forest Gate, Peckham, New Cross, Sutton, and Brixton. In total, Portobello now manages 15 sites across London.

Mark Crowther was recently appointed chairman of Portobello Brewery and, since 2012, has been chairman of the Downing-backed entities that own the 13 pubs.

He said: “We are delighted to welcome these freehold pubs into the Portobello family. They are all much-loved pubs that have continued to trade well until the recent lockdown in their great locations, despite the current economic uncertainty.

“Despite the upheavals created by the covid 19 pandemic, this development represents an excellent opportunity to accelerate
the growth of the Portobello pub estate, whilst providing a shop window for our beer brands. We intend to invest further in the estate to ensure the pubs maintain their retail offer and distinctive personality in their local markets.”

Nick Carter, associate director at Downing, added: “We are always seeking to work with high-quality, talented operators, and are pleased to partner with Portobello, with whom we are looking forward to an exciting future for these pubs. We would like to thank the team at Antic for their previous management of these assets.”