The High Horse is Dodo Pub Co.’s tenth neighbourhood pub, opened in Newbury in 2025.

What began as the acquisition of a tired, fragmented 40-cover pub became the creation of an entirely new hospitality business from the ground up. Working from acquisition through to opening, I led the design direction for the project, bringing together commercial thinking, operational planning, hospitality design and brand identity into a single vision. While the technical design and construction drawings were developed alongside the wider project team, I remained responsible for the creative direction throughout; from the overall layout and customer journey to the interiors, brand identity and graphic design, creating the sort of neighbourhood pub that feels as though it’s always been there. A proper local, if you like.

When the site became available, the opportunity was immediately clear. The demographic analysis suggested Newbury was a natural fit for Dodo’s neighbourhood pub model and, with planning permission for an extension already secured, we were able to move from first viewing to opening in just six months.

The existing pub traded reasonably well considering its limitations, but the building itself was holding the business back. The bar and kitchen sat in the wrong locations, customer flow was awkward, several disconnected buildings fragmented the experience and a generous outdoor space remained largely underused.

Rather than asking how we could improve the existing pub, the question became much simpler.

Could we adapt this building to generate the sort of revenue and return the opportunity deserved?

Answering that meant questioning almost everything. The bar and kitchen were relocated, walls removed, separate buildings connected and entirely new spaces introduced, transforming the site into a neighbourhood pub capable of welcoming more than 400 guests.

By this point I’d led the opening of nine sites with Dodo. Every project had taught me something new about layout, atmosphere and operational efficiency. The ambition here wasn’t simply to create a bigger pub. It was to create one that could flex naturally with demand. Busy enough to thrive on a Friday evening, efficient enough to protect labour below 30% on a quieter Monday lunch and, just as importantly, without ever feeling empty or overwhelming from the customer’s perspective.

The High Horse needed to feel as though it belonged in Newbury while remaining recognisably Dodo. The name emerged from a lengthy shortlist before settling on The High Horse; a nod to the town’s racing heritage with enough personality that it felt unmistakably part of the wider Dodo family.

The same thinking shaped the interiors. Rather than spec.’ing the building from a catalogue, I spent months sourcing reclaimed furniture, lighting, architectural salvage and characterful objects from dealers and reclamation yards around the country. One of my favourite finds was a set of old spindles, we repurposed as beer tap handles behind the bar. They’re the sort of detail most people never consciously notice, yet almost every customer interacts with them. I like that. They quietly reinforce the sense that everything in the building has a story and a purpose.

The project was delivered to an incredibly tight programme, so procurement became as much a creative exercise as a commercial one. One example was the artwork. Instead of commissioning a load of bespoke frames, we bought a job lot of salvage frames and designed the artwork to fit inside them. The finished result felt far more authentic while saving the business thousands on framing. More importantly, it demonstrated that thoughtful resourcefulness often produces a better outcome than simply spending money to get something done quickly.

Delivering the project also meant leading the design and build programme while developing the brand identity in parallel. It quickly became a chicken-and-egg process, where decisions about the building influenced the branding and the branding, in turn, informed the build. Rather than applying an identity at the end, both evolved together, creating a stronger and more coherent experience. I led the design direction across both disciplines, shaping everything from the customer journey, operational layout and interior finishes through to the menus, signage and graphic design, ensuring every element was considered as part of the same design process.

Very little made it into the finished pub without passing across my desk. Whether it was a fabric, a door handle, a light fitting or a menu, every decision was considered in the context of the wider Dodo world. Individually those decisions seem insignificant. Collectively, they’re what gave The High Horse its own personality while ensuring it still felt unmistakably like a Dodo pub.

The High Horse opened on schedule, with the entire project delivered from acquisition to opening in just six months. Today it operates as a £1m+ neighbourhood pub, trading in line with its business plan while maintaining a labour model below 30%; a reflection of the thinking that shaped the project from day one.

What I’m most proud of, however, isn’t the turnover or the operational metrics. It’s that very little has needed changing. The decisions made during planning have largely stood the test of time, allowing the building to adapt naturally to a busy Friday evening, a quiet Monday lunch or a packed summer garden without compromising the customer experience.

Looking back, The High Horse represents the culmination of everything learnt from opening the previous nine sites. It reinforced something I still believe today. Great hospitality businesses aren’t built through branding alone. They’re shaped by hundreds of thoughtful commercial, operational and creative decisions that work together to create somewhere that feels lived in, genuine and quietly familiar from the day it opens.

Capabilities

Design Leadership • Commercial Assessment • Operational Design • Brand Strategy • Brand Identity • Naming • Hospitality Space Planning • Customer Experience • Interior Design • Procurement • Signage & Wayfinding • Print & Merchandise Design • Brand Rollout

Credits

Client
Dodo Pub Co

Design Leadership, Brand Identity & Graphic Design
Leo Johnson

Commercial Build
Concorde BGW

Photography
Dodo Pub Co