The Black Swan

What The Black Swan does

The Black Swan Inn is a privately-held country pub, restaurant, and bed & breakfast located at 25 Norwich Road, Horsham St Faith, Norwich, Norfolk, UK, originally constructed in the early eighteenth century and recently completely refurbished and extended. The venue operates as a single integrated hospitality site offering an à la carte restaurant serving lunch and dinner daily, a lounge bar open from 7am, eleven individually designed en-suite bedrooms, and the purpose-built Bracondale function room (constructed in 2018) with capacity for up to 60 guests. Supporting services include takeaway, Sunday roasts, breakfast, a children's 'Cygnets' menu, and vegan options.

The business generates revenue across four streams: food and beverage sales, accommodation (£100-£120 per night including breakfast), function room hire (corporate half-day at £250, with weekday hire free when ordering function menus), and event services including weddings, corporate meetings, private parties, and funeral wakes with catering packages priced £13.99-£19.99 per head. The venue is a TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Award winner for both 2023 and 2024, placing it in the top 10% of restaurants globally, supported by a consistent stream of five-star reviews.

Distribution and bookings are managed exclusively through direct channels — the venue's own website (blackswaninn.co.uk), telephone (01603 897 787), and walk-in traffic — with no third-party OTA, reseller, or marketplace partnerships. Marketing relies primarily on TripAdvisor earned media, the venue's own website, Instagram, and local newspaper coverage (Eastern Daily Press). The business is independently owned by Andrew Neale, with no parent company, no external funding, no disclosed headcount, and operates solely within the East Anglia / Norwich catchment area.

Name

The Black Swan

Legal name

The Black Swan Inn

Website

https://blackswaninn.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1700

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Black Swan Inn is a privately-held 18th-century country pub, restaurant, and bed & breakfast in Norwich, UK, serving local diners, travelers, and event hosts with eleven en-suite bedrooms and a 60-guest function room for weddings, corporate events, private parties, and wakes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality and Accommodation Services

NAICS

Bed-and-Breakfast Inns (721191), Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Traveler Accommodation (7211)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Boutique Inns (THAGAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lounge Bars & Hotel Bars (THAFAEAI), Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH)

Keywords

• Country pub dining
• Bed and breakfast
• Function room hire
• Wedding venue services
• Corporate event catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Horsham St Faith, Norwich

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily with an à la carte menu, daily specials, Sunday roasts, and takeaway options. The cosy lounge bar is open all day from 7am. Revenue is generated through individual customer transactions for food and drinks.
2. Accommodation: Eleven individually finished en-suite bedrooms available for nightly hire. Rooms are priced from £100-£120 per night depending on room type. Breakfast is included. Revenue from overnight stays provides recurring income from travelers and business guests.
3. Function Room Hire: The Bracondale Room accommodates up to 60 guests for private parties, weddings, corporate events, and wakes. Corporate half-day hire is £250. Weekday room hire is free when ordering from function menus. Additional revenue from catering packages ranging £13.99-£19.99 per head and house wine at £19.99 per bottle.
4. Specialty Dining and Events: Private dining experiences for pre-wedding meals, celebrations, and special occasions. Takeaway menu available. Children's 'Cygnets' menu and vegan options cater to specific dietary requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Black Swan Inn operates as a historic country pub, restaurant, and bed and breakfast in Horsham St Faith, Norwich. It provides à la carte dining, a daily lounge bar, eleven en-suite bedrooms for overnight stays, and a function room (Bracondale Room) for weddings, corporate events, private parties, and funeral wakes.

Product overview

The Black Swan Inn is a traditional country pub and restaurant offering a single integrated hospitality experience. The core offerings include an a la carte restaurant with fresh, homemade food and signature dishes, a cosy lounge bar, and 11 individually styled en-suite bedrooms for bed and breakfast accommodation. The inn also operates the Bracondale Function Room (completed 2018) which serves as a hub for multiple service lines: wedding celebrations, corporate meetings and events, private parties, and funeral wakes. Supporting food services include takeaway, Sunday roasts, breakfast service, a children's 'Cygnets' menu, and vegan options. The product portfolio functions as a unified hospitality venue rather than separate modular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Restaurant and Dining (A La Carte)

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 10% of restaurants on TripAdvisor globally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Premier Inn: UK's largest budget hotel chain with multiple Norwich-area locations competing for cost-conscious travellers. Relevant incumbent in the Norwich accommodation market adjacent to The Black Swan Inn's positioning.
• Greene King: Major UK pub and brewing operator with hundreds of managed and tenanted pubs across East Anglia and nationally. Relevant as a broad incumbent competing for similar dining and pub-custom in the Norwich area.
• Fuller's: UK premium pub and hotel operator with a portfolio of heritage pubs and inns. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the premium pub-with-rooms segment, though at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• The Crown at Stoke by Nayland: Historic Essex inn combining restaurant, bar, and lodge-style accommodation on a country estate. Comparable in offering integrated dining, accommodation, and event/function hire in a heritage setting.
• The Bull Inn, Totnes: Independently operated Devon inn offering restaurant, bar, and rooms in a historic town-centre setting. Comparable UK regional inn business model serving both local diners and travellers.
• The Bell at Skenfrith: A historic Welsh country inn offering similar integrated hospitality: restaurant, bar, and accommodation in a heritage setting. Directly comparable in scale, business model, and rural/regional positioning to The Black Swan Inn.
• The Riverside at Aymestrey: Award-winning country inn in Herefordshire with restaurant and accommodation in a restored historic building. Comparable as an independent, owner-operated rural inn with strong food-led positioning and TripAdvisor-style reputation.
• The Saracen's Head at Symonds Yat: Independently operated historic inn on the River Wye offering restaurant, bar, and en-suite rooms in a countryside setting. Highly comparable heritage-pub-with-accommodation business model and target market.

Regional players

• The George Hotel, Norwich: Historic Norwich city-centre hotel with restaurant and event facilities. Comparable regional heritage hospitality competitor serving overlapping business and leisure travellers in the Norwich market.
• The Maids Head Hotel, Norwich: Historic Norwich hotel with restaurant and bar operating in the same city as The Black Swan Inn. Comparable as a heritage Norwich hospitality venue, though with a larger room inventory and broader hotel positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-black-swan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Black Swan