Member Article

Iconic Leeds pub scores transformation

A famous Leeds pub, renowned as the pub of choice for Leeds United fans, has undergone a £400,000 refurbishment programme, creating 25 new jobs, after being taken over by an award-winning, local micro-brewery.

Pub retailer, Greene King, and independent West Yorkshire brewers, Ossett Brewery, joined forces to transform The Old Peacock, opposite Leeds United’s Elland Road ground.

Thanks to the thousands of pounds worth of investment, 25 new jobs have been created including two as part of the Government’s apprenticeship scheme.

Wakefield-based Ossett Brewery was recently named as the best UK micro-brewery at the 2013 Publican Awards and runs a number of pubs across Yorkshire including The Hop in Leeds, York and Sheffield and the Flower Pot in Mirfield.

The Old Peacock was forced to close for a period last year but it’s hoped with its new owners it can attract a range of customers when it opens on August 2nd, ahead of the new football season which gets underway for Leeds United on August 3rd with a home game against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Ossett Brewery’s joint managing director, Jamie Lawson, said: “Along with many of the team, I’m a big Leeds United fan so this venture fulfils a boyhood dream. Having the pub ready in time for the new season was always fundamental to this project but whilst The Old Peacock already holds a special place in many fans’ hearts, what we really want to achieve is to cement it as a pub for people who live and work in Leeds, as well as for the club.”

Simon Longbottom is managing director for Greene King Pub Partners, the tenanted and leased arm of the pub company, which owns the Old Peacock. He said: “The substantial investment at this iconic site has transformed The Old Peacock, giving the pub enormous potential to appeal to a much wider range of customers. It will satisfy demand from families, couples, groups of friends and of course football fans, whether they are looking for a quality meal or a pint of real ale, I am certain all will be wowed by what the pub has to offer.”

As well as a traditional pub menu featuring local dishes, The Old Peacock will offer hand-pulled beers including the 1919, exclusive to the venue and named after the year Leeds United was officially formed.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison .