First Dôme sale goes through

The first Dôme café-bar, from a group of 14 put on the market by Laurel Pub Company last June, has been sold.

The 120-seat restaurant and bar in Portsmouth city centre was bought for an undisclosed sum by C-Side Holdings, a Brighton-based bar and club operator.

The company owns six nightclubs and 18 bars in Brighton, and plans to have around six bars in Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth. It is venture capital-financed by Graphite Capital.

Lee Simon, managing director of C-Side, said the Portsmouth Dôme would continue trading under the name until it reopens as a drinks-led bar in the summer following a £250,000 refurbishment.

Agent for the sale Christie & Co said sales had been agreed or contracts exchanged on the remaining 13 Dômes, which are all leasehold.

Nine are in greater London and the others in Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff and Nottingham.

The Dôme chain was among nearly 3,000 pubs which Laurel's parent company Morgan Grenfell Private Equity bought from Whitbread last year for £1.65b. Laurel has kept four Dômes - three in London and one in Dartford, Kent - which continue to trade under the name.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 28 March - 3 April 2002