VANTAGE PUB COMPANY
Where land, sea & sky meet...
In his 17th century diary, Samuel Pepys described the pub as
"The Heart of England"
About us
We are a team of hospitality industry specialists with global experience in the restaurant, pub, food franchise and fully crewed luxury charter yacht industries. We love people and, we love what we do. From the outset we realised that it would be impossible to compete with Pub Companies that have traded from as early as 1799 and herewithin identified the opportunity to partner with these success stories and introduce our own unique approach and ability to scale our vision.
We have pioneered the development of currency hedge investment products since as early as 1989 most notably within the luxury yacht charter industry in the Caribbean. The directors have also been intimately involved in the restaurant industry having on the one hand, owned their own restaurants and on the other, assisted to grow major brands both locally and abroad.
Vantage Brand
We intend to be the “First Choice” destination for quality food and beverage and to provide our customers with a seamless experience that exceeds their expectations whilst at the same time delivering superlative returns to all our stakeholders.
Our aim in building the Vantage Pub Company is to create a collection of great pubs in cities, market towns and villages, with their own unique personality, style and creative offerings.
We will show uncompromising commitment to sourcing from producers whose practices are humane, ethical, and focusing on healthy, farm-to-table menus with an emphasis on wood-fire and smokehouse cooking.
The environment increasingly matters to us and we believe in taking positive action, from sustainable sourcing to energy saving measures. We will take heed and both lead and communicate to our customers in this area.
Lessons learnt from Luxury Charter Yacht Industry
A luxury charter yacht could be likened to a floating 5-Star boutique hotel and having built and managed a fleet of 142 luxury yachts we utterly understand customer expectations.
Charter guests expect the following:
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Personalisation - Service Excellence
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Expectations must be exceeded
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The duration of the charter should deliver on all the human senses
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Ensure a lifetime of great memories
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Exceptional food and beverage offering
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An array of activities tailored to entice and retain guest loyalty
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Safety, security and hygiene
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Seasoned Captain and crew who instil confidence in charter guests
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The entire journey/experience must be seamless
Three Generations... Grandmother, Mother and Daughter
Food and Drink
We are a collective of British and South African business founders with a strong heritage that transcends into our food offering.
At Vantage Pub Company our food celebrates the seasons, presenting farm-to-table dining, using ingredients grown and sourced locally, which ties in well with our philosophy of forming strong partnerships with other local businesses and returning to the historic inn’s role as the heart of the neighbourhood. Over and above our wood-fired offering, we have pub snacks, sharing plates, vegetarian and vegan friendly dishes. The act of sharing a plate with someone is so ancestral and very important to Vantage. We want it to not only encourage conversation but make dining a more communal act.
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Events and Meetings
As an extention to our service offering, we will wherever possible provide a dedicated meeting room equipped with audiovisual presentation equipment, conferencing telecom and other technology, that will empower our patrons with a venue from which they can conduct business. We strive to encourage business networking within each one of our establishments.
Whatever the special occasion, let us make your group dining experience a memorable one. Whether it’s an intimate private room with the family, or a semi-private space that still gives you a sense of atmosphere, you will be sure to find the perfect area to impress your guests. With our wonderful selection of wines and ales, we can offer bespoke set menus, sharing feasts or a la carte options to tantalise the taste-buds.
We will publish a quarterly schedule of our exciting events, including such things as: quiz nights, fundraising events, wine/beer pairing, supperclubs, live entertainment, pool and darts competitions, amongst other exciting activities.
Meet the Team
Meet the Team
Meet the Team
Garth Carstens
Garth Carstens is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in the global yachting and franchise industries for 36 and 28 years respectively.
He founded Marine Syndicate Management Systems, Alpha Abacus Maritime Holdings, Vantage Land Sea Sky and has built over 350 yachts and managed a fleet of 142 fully crewed luxury charter yachts in the Caribbean.
Co-Founded Carstens, Sattery & Co and partnered with Ocean Container Investments - FirstCorp Merchant Bank & Trencor Joint Venture to promote and sell stainless steel tank containers as a currency hedge investment. Responsible for all marketing and sales in South Africa. Garth franchised the opportunity to represent the product through a Territorial License Exclusivity Agreement before moving on to Cairo to establish offices and sell to MENA investors.
He is also the founder of News Incorporated (Franchise Consultants) and has been instrumental in developing and promoting restaurant investments throughout the world from offices in South Africa, Egypt and the British Virgin Islands. Garth has vast local and international experience growing franchise businesses including Steers, Spur, Wimpy, Pizza Hut, Cool Runnings, Pizza Perfect, Mochachos Chicken Villages, Barcelos, Skippers Fish & Chips, TGI Fridays and Donut World amongst but a few.
Karen Skinner
Karen Anne Skinner hails from the United Kingdom, a fierce competitor by nature having rowed for Great Britain in the Junior World Rowing Championships and equally competitive in business, was a founder and director of Barracuda Corporate Communications & Events (Clients included British Airways, Burger King, Whitbread, Rothmans, Imperial Tobacco, Courage, Perfect Pizza, Gatwick Airport and A-Plant). Karen moved to South Africa in 2006 and joined her brother as COO of the phenomenally successful Vaudeville Supper Club and Fez Night Club. Karen was then co-owner and Operations Director of 9 x Thai Café’s and 3 x Erawan Thai Restaurants.
Karen was recruited build, open and manage the the internationally renowned Harbour House Restaurant situated at Constantia Neck Cape Town and was also responsible for the build process, implementation of systems and managing of Woodcutters Arms British Pub Theme Restaurant in Cape Town. Upon returning to the UK in 2020, Karen was the General Manager of two Gastro pubs with 17 letting rooms in the Cotswold.
Karen is a 3rd generation publican and in 2018 wound up all her South African business interests to pursue her vision developing Vantage Pub & Grill as she recognized a gap in the British Pub and Restaurant market that she wanted to exploit.
Corporate Social Responsibility
At Vantage Pub Compnay we feel that the pub should be the centre or hub of community life and should also provide essential services beyond the usual drinks, food or entertainment. We know how important it is to behave in a responsible, caring and sustainable way. It matters to our customers, our team members, our neighbours, and it also matters to us. That’s why we are fully committed to our corporate responsibility programme
Our Communities
Supporting charities and local communities is at the the heart of our philosopy.
Our ethos is to use as much local produce as possible, save 'food miles' and support local jobs by using local farmers, independent fisheries and fisherman, sourcing products from sustainable suppliers and looking to reduce environmental impact.
We will sponsor local sports clubs and any viable initiative that impacts on our community. We will get involved in fundraising for local charities by hosting coffee mornings, quiz nights and charity dinners and so much more.
We will also have charity dishes, where our patrons can make a difference in someone's life as we donate a certain amount to a specific charity every time you buy a certain meal or you can pay it forward, by buying a virtual meal for someone in need.
Our Environment
Reducing our environmental impact is key to the long-term sustainability of our business.
We reduce greenhouse gases by using LED light bulbs and are always looking at new ways to bring down our energy usage.
Menus are designed to limit food waste and use as much of each ingredient as possible in the kitchen.
We advocate responsible retailing with all of our team members having to complete our training before they can serve alcohol, so that they understand their legal responsibilities and obligations, as well as the impact of alcohol on children.
Recycle unavoidable food waste and reduce the amount of rubbish that goes to the landfill, by recycling what we can in the pubs – glass, plastic, paper, food and banning single-use plastic.
Our Guests
We take very seriously our responsibility to provide a safe, affordable and convenient experience for our guests every time they visit us.
We are committed to delivering excellent food and kitchen standards.
We want our guests with allergies and intolerances to feel comfortable in our pubs and restaurants, and trust our food.
Our aim is to serve great-tasting, quality food and to give customers a choice of a wide range of menu options that support a healthy balanced diet and also offer a range of options for vegetarian, vegans and people following non-starch diets such keto and paleo.
Our People
It’s the people at Vantage Pub Co who make us who and what we are. We want to be an employer that understands and genuinely values our teams, whilst providing opportunities to develop and grow by supporting well being and equality in the work place.
We will implement a staff share incentive scheme that rewards performance and loyalty.
We encourage and support our people to build their careers in the direction that they would like to. Our dedicated training programmes are specific for each of our business areas so that our team members get the development they need.
We will run an apprenticeship programme, and think it’s a great way to support young people starting out in their careers.
We are... Advocates for Wealth Protection
Private equity in a £38,000,000,000...831year old industry that employs 9% of the British workforce. An impressive history with an enormous track record that mitigates risk.
CONTACT US
Broadwell, Oxfordshire
Monday – Thursday 08:00AM – 11:00PM
Friday/Saturday 08:00AM – 11:00PM
Sunday 08:00PM –09:00PM
Tel: Garth +44 (0) 7512331272
Karen: +44 (0) 7873971048
Greig: +27 (0) 633641780
Email: greig@vantagepubcompany.com
Email: garth@vantagepubcompany.com
Email: karen@vantagepubcompany.com
© 2020 by Vantage Pub Company
All rights reserved
Company Number: 12756715