Star Pubs has opened its 250th Just Add Talent pub, The Pig on the Wall in Droylsden, Greater Manchester, after a £212,000 refit. The Heineken-owned pub company reached the milestone ahead of its end-of-year target for the managed operator format, under which it sets the offer and pays for the stock.
The Morning Advertiser reported on 9 November that the pub welcomed customers over the weekend. It is the 23rd Just Add Talent, or JAT, site in the north west. Star set out in January a plan to open 35 new JAT pubs in 2026, and the format’s 200th site, The Hesketh in Cheadle Hulme, opened in October 2024. The largest JAT refurbishment this year, according to Hospitality & Catering News, was £542,000 at The Engine House in Exeter, more than twice the sum spent in Droylsden.
The Pig on the Wall refit
The £212,000 investment covered a full internal redecoration, new furniture and TVs, a new commercial kitchen and upgraded accommodation, according to the Morning Advertiser. Outside, the pub has new signage and a beer garden. The new operator is Sylvia Morris, who has worked in the trade for more than 40 years, 17 of them in Droylsden. Her son Matthew handles the back-office work.
“The joy of JAT is that there’s a team behind you, there’s always someone to speak to,” Sylvia Morris told the Morning Advertiser. She told CLH News: “After 40 years in the trade I didn’t think I’d learn anything from the training, I was wrong.” Caren Geering, central operations director at Star Pubs, said: “Our JAT pubs are community focused, hosting events and raising funds for good causes.”
How a Just Add Talent agreement works
Star’s website describes JAT as a management agreement in the managed operator style. Star sets the offer, pays for all the stock and covers most other costs, while the operator delivers the offer and employs the staff. The operator pays no rent, utilities, business rates or maintenance costs. In return the operator takes between 20% and 30% of net turnover, plus 20% of the pub’s net profit paid quarterly in arrears. The agreement is open-ended and the operator can end it with three months’ notice.
Good to know
A JAT pub is not a franchise. Star pays for the stock and keeps the pub, and the operator is paid a share of turnover and profit rather than trading on their own account.
Managed operator pubs across the estate
In October, Star managing director Lawson Mountstevens told the Morning Advertiser that the company ran 2,120 leased and tenanted pubs alongside 240 JAT venues, and that it would open 30 to 35 JAT pubs a year. The Droylsden opening came in the same week that Admiral Taverns’ managed pub division reached the same figure, with Proper Pubs opening its 250th site. Star has not published a target for 2027. Those looking at other ways into the trade can compare the steps in how to open a bar in the UK.
