Expansion on the cards at Henley pub after it was taken over by White Brasserie Company

HENLEY pub the Black Swan could be transformed and extended after it was taken over by a firm linked to one of Britain’s best-known chefs.

The White Brasserie Company, which was originally set up by Raymond Blanc, was this week confirmed as the new owners of the High Street pub.

The Herald reported in May last year that the firm was applying for a premises licence for the Black Swan.

The deal for the Grade-II listed pub has now been completed, with the firm adding the Black Swan to its portfolio which includes 19 pubs and 14 Brasserie Blanc restaurants.

Richard Tole, director at WTS Property Consultants, which brokered the deal, said: “We are delighted to have secured the long-term future of this Grade-II listed pub.

“It has great trading potential and I have no doubt that the team at White Brasserie will do a fantastic job extending and transforming it.

“I very much look forward to visiting the pub as a customer when it opens."

Those transformation plans have yet to have been published on Stratford District Council’s planning portal.

White Brasserie pubs are described as ‘British pubs with a French brasserie twist’. Its parent group, Brasserie Bar Co, was acquired by private equity firm Alchemy Partners last February.