Founded by Charlie McVeigh in 2009, The Draft House is the first and pre-eminent craft beer pub group in the UK.

The brand is all about Good Food, Great Beer, Real People.

Luke Johnson has chaired and been a significant investor in the company since June 2011 when the group consisted of three pubs.

The Draft House is The Home of the Third, having revived the third of a pint measure as a means of enabling drinkers to sample the pubs’ vast range of beers.

Unusually for a craft beer pub group, The Draft House also has a strong food offer, specialising in dishes which have an affinity with beer.

In June 2017 The Draft House added 6 pubs to its portfolio via the acquisition of Grand Union Group, taking its total number of sites to 16.

Why we invested:

• Strong existing MD who has successful track record of establishing and running pubs and bars
• Focus on craft beer, which has been the main growth in the beer market
• Existing base of profitable sites to grow the business from

Outcome

We sold our investment in Draft House through a £15m trade sale to Brewdog in Spring 2018