QUICK VERDICT
| Opportunity Type | Marston’s Partnership (Community Food / Signature) |
| Pubco | Marston’s |
| Weekly Sales Estimate | £9,000/week (Marston’s published estimate) |
| Security Deposit | £11,325 (NOTE: above standard £5,000 — confirm reason with Marston’s) |
| Working Capital Needed | £22,000–£28,000 minimum |
| Trade Character | Food-destination rural pub, Derbyshire village, session trading pattern |
| Best Suited To | Rural food pub operator with strong kitchen credentials and destination dining experience |
| Shaun’s Rating | [ ] |
| Red Flag | The deposit is £11,325 — more than double the standard Marston’s community pub deposit of £5,000. Understand exactly why before signing. Higher deposits on Marston’s sites can reflect recent investment, a premium tier classification, or a specific agreement structure. Clarify this in writing. |
THE LOCAL PICTURE
The Holly Bush is at Main Street, Church Broughton, Derby DE65 5AS.
Church Broughton is a small village in South Derbyshire approximately 8
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miles west of Derby city centre and 10 miles from Burton-on-Trent.
Village population is small — a few hundred permanent residents — so
this pub is entirely dependent on drawing trade from Derby, Burton and
the wider South Derbyshire and Staffordshire border area.
Key employers in the Derby catchment: Rolls-Royce at Sinfin, Toyota at
Burnaston (both within 10 miles), Derby Teaching Hospitals, and Derby
city’s professional and retail economy. Church Broughton sits between
the affluent south Derby residential villages (Etwall, Hilton, Hatton)
and the rural agricultural land towards Uttoxeter. The demographic is
ABC1 — professionals and families who expect quality.
No Wetherspoons in Church Broughton — nearest is Derby city centre at
8+ miles. The Google rating of 4.7 stars is outstanding and positions
this alongside the best rural Derbyshire food pubs. The trading hours
— sessions-based Monday/Wednesday-Thursday, all day Friday-Sunday,
closed Tuesday — are a classic destination food pub trading pattern.
WHAT THE PUB IS
The Holly Bush trades on a session pattern: Monday evenings only
(6–11pm), closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday lunch and evenings
(noon–3pm, 5–11pm), Friday and Saturday all day (noon–11pm), Sunday
noon–10:30pm. This is a deliberate, carefully managed trading week that
prioritises food session quality over maximum hours.
At £9,000/week on this restricted trading pattern, the Holly Bush is
generating strong revenue from a limited number of sessions. The
4.7-star rating confirms this is a highly regarded food destination. The
higher deposit of £11,325 likely reflects the Signature or equivalent
premium tier classification.
THE MARSTON’S PARTNERSHIP DEAL
Likely Signature tier — Marston’s premium food-destination
classification. The management charge at this tier will reflect the
premium positioning. The higher deposit of £11,325 confirms this is not
a standard community pub agreement — understand the full financial
structure before committing.
The session-based trading pattern means your kitchen needs to deliver
quality food in defined windows rather than across an all-day service.
That’s actually operationally manageable if your kitchen team is strong
— but it requires kitchen leadership capable of delivering consistent
quality in two-hour lunch and three-hour evening sessions consistently.
The Marston’s Signature tier agreements typically include higher BDM
engagement and more active account management. The premium food supply
framework will apply. I know from running my own Marston’s Partnership
that at this tier the relationship with your BDM becomes a genuine
commercial conversation rather than a compliance check — use it
properly.
FINANCIAL REALITY
| Metric | Figure |
| Weekly Sales Estimate | £9,000 (Source: Marston’s published estimate) |
| Annualised Revenue | \~£468,000 |
| Security Deposit | £11,325 (above standard — confirm classification and reason) |
| Working Capital Required | £22,000–£28,000 (liquid, not borrowed) |
| Ingoing Costs (est.) | £11,325–£25,000 total inc. deposit |
| Marston’s Management Charge | Confirm exact % — Signature tier may differ from community pub rate |
| Staff Costs | Target 35–40% for food-destination session model |
| Break-Even Target | 18–24 months |
| Head Chef Dependency | CRITICAL — the 4.7-star rating is a kitchen achievement; retain or replace immediately with equivalent quality |
PUBS CODE RIGHTS — KNOW BEFORE YOU SIGN
PUBS CODE RIGHTS — KNOW BEFORE YOU SIGN
| – | Independent rent assessment (Pubs Code right — exercise it) |
| – | Request P&L projections from Marston’s before signing |
| – | Obtain Schedule of Condition — protect yourself on dilapidations |
| – | Get the tied product price list before you agree terms |
| – | Complete Marston’s pre-entry training programme (mandatory) |
| – | You can request a free Market Rent Only option assessment |
| – | Right to independent advice on terms from a qualified RICS surveyor |
WHO THIS SUITS
A rural food destination operator with proven kitchen management
credentials. You need to have run a comparable quality food pub before
— delivering consistent 4.7-star quality in a South Derbyshire village
pub serving professionals from Derby and Burton requires a kitchen team
that’s been built and retained, not assembled from scratch.
The session-based trading pattern suits an operator who values quality
over volume. This is a pub where every service needs to be excellent
rather than a pub where quantity of covers compensates for
inconsistency. Minimum £22,000 liquid capital on top of the £11,325
deposit.
WHAT WORKS / WHAT DOESN’T
WHAT WORKS
| – | Protecting the 4.7-star rating obsessively from day one — in rural |
Derbyshire’s food pub community, reputation is your entire
marketing
| – | The session trading pattern — use the closed Tuesday to develop |
your kitchen team, plan menus and manage preparation without
compromising service session quality
| – | Local Derbyshire sourcing — Church Broughton is surrounded by |
quality agricultural land; use it on the menu and talk about it
| – | Derby and Burton professional market — these customers drive 8–10 |
miles for a quality food pub and tell all their colleagues
WHAT DOESN’T WORK
| – | Attempting to change the trading hours in the first year without |
understanding why the current pattern exists and works
| – | Opening without a head chef of comparable quality to whoever built |
the 4.7-star rating
| – | Treating the higher deposit as just a financial hurdle — |
understand what it means for the agreement structure before signing
WHAT YOU NEED ON DAY ONE
Full EPOS with reservations integration, kitchen display, and stock
reporting is essential for a food destination of this quality —
Lightspeed Restaurant or ICRTouch. Configure a reservations system
before opening; a rural destination food pub without a booking system
loses revenue continuously. First stock count within 14 days.
GET YOUR NUMBERS RIGHT BEFORE YOU SIGN
Before you sign anything, know your numbers.
Pub Command Centre gives you real-time labour %, VAT and cash position
from day one. £97 once.