When Natalie Russell and husband Brian were looking for a new career challenge they were naturally drawn to the business of running a pub. Having both worked in pubs dur-ing their 20s and Natalie’s parents having run one for many years, it was an easy choice to make.

The busy couple had pursued very different careers during the last decade – Natalie was an accountant and Brian an engineer. And, although enjoyable, they wanted a career  that they could both be a part of and to be able steer its direction.

With some savings in the bank that they wanted to put to good work, they decided to finance their next career challenge – managing a pub. 

But where to start? They began their search for a pub online and very quickly found   FindMyPub.com an ‘end to end’ recruitment services provider to some of the UK’s big-gest pub companies.

Natalie comments: “On finding the company and registering our details it all ran very smoothly from the word go. We spent quite a bit of time with our account manager going through our investment details, experience, previous roles and objectives and we were pleasantly surprised at how simple and seamless the whole process was.“A few phone calls later and forms completed, we were ‘matched’ with three possible pubs. We knew which area we wanted to be in, the exact village and even the exact pub – all we were then reliant on was securing it at the right time.” 

A few months down the line and the news was in – the couple had secured the pub of their dreams!

Brian and Natalie’s £15k investment secured them The Anchor at Canawden in Essex which is owned by leading property developer and owner of 344 pubs across the coun-try, NewRiver, whose pubs are exclusively available to rent through FindMyPub.com. 

On top of Brian and Natalee’s savings, NewRiver invested a further £35,000  transform-ing this once neglected pub with a significant face-lift, a new state-of-the-art kitchen and two owners raring to go. 

Fast forward two months and Natalie and Brian couldn’t be happier. “We always knew the potential of The Anchor and we have transformed it into a real  community pub that boasts great food, drink, event evenings, entertainment and a welcoming atmosphere.

Helen Lees, managing director of FindMyPub.com comments: “This is one of our many success stories of owners who are making a real difference in the pub they have invested in and to the wider pub sector – we are so pleased that we have been able to help Na-talie and Brian realise their dream of becoming landlords and wish them every success in the future.”