Varsity was a student-focused pub chain operating in the United Kingdom. The name originates from annual university sports competitions. It entered administration in 2013. Coventry is the only remaining pub bearing the name Varsity which is now operated by Stonegate Pub Company.

History

The chain began in the mid-1990s. Its main competitor was

Scream Pubs Scream (formerly known as It's A Scream) was a student-oriented pub chain in the United Kingdom owned by the Stonegate Pub Company. The chain began in October 1995. History The pub chain was set up by brewers Bass, who called it, It's a Scre ...

. Varsity was more sports-orientated than It's A Scream. Varsity Wolverhampton – the first varsity bar in the chain – shut its doors in June 2012 after The University of Wolverhampton made a successful bid to the struggling Barracuda Group to purchase the building. It ceased trading in 2013.

Ownership

Wolverhampton and Dudley

Varsity was founded by

Wolverhampton & Dudley Marston's plc is a British pub and hotel operator. Founded by John Marston in 1834, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Marston's disposed of its brewing operations in 2020, selling the assets to a newly formed joint venture with the Ca ...

Barracuda Group

The Barracuda Group was formed in July 2000 by PPM Ventures, a private equity company that became Silverfleet Capital. In September 2001 Barracuda Group bought fifty pubs from Wolverhampton & Dudley for £37.25 million, which included the 22 pubs of the Varsity chain. In June 2005, the Barracuda Group was sold for £262 million to Charterhouse Capital Partners. In August 2006 there were 36 Varsity bars. In October 2012, Barracuda was renamed The Bramwell Pub Company.

The Stonegate Pub Company

In October 2013, The Bramwell Pub Company went into administration. The Stonegate Pub Company bought 78 of the company's pubs including the Varsities in Lincoln and Coventry.

Operation

It operated the ''V Card'', one of the first loyalty cards, which allowed a cheaper price for some drinks, and allows better offers on some of the food deals.

Previous Estate

North West England

* Longsight, Manchester, near the

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...

campus of Manchester Metropolitan University * Bolton, Churchgate *Church Street, Preston

North East England

* Sunderland, near the University of Sunderland, off the A1231 road, A1231

Yorkshire and the Humber

* Huddersfield * Kingston upon Hull, Hull * Leeds * Sheffield, on West Street, on the Sheffield Supertram near the University of Sheffield (science and engineering departments)

East Midlands

* Leicester – two, on Friar Lane in the city centre, and London Road (A6 road (England), A6) towards the University of Leicester * Lincoln, England, Lincoln * Loughborough

West Midlands

* Coventry, on Gibbet Hill Road, between the main University of Warwick campus and Westwood (Campus) * Wolverhampton, at the University of Wolverhampton

South West England

* Gloucester

South East England

* Southampton – on London Road. Closed in 2016. * Southampton – on Portswood Broadway. Closed in 2013. * Southend-on-Sea

Wales

* Aberystwyth * Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, near Bangor University * Cardiff, near Cardiff UniversityCardiff pubs
/ref> * Roath (Cardiff), off the A469 road, A469 next to the railway (Rhymney Line) * Swansea

References

External links

Stonegate Varsity

News items

Punch up outside Swansea pub in January 2011
{{authority control Companies based in Buckinghamshire Pub chains Stonegate Pub Company Universities in the United Kingdom Wycombe District