The Horseshoe Bar

What The Horseshoe Bar does

The Horseshoe Bar is a Victorian-era public house located at 17-19 Drury Street in Glasgow city centre, operated as a trading venue of Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail Ltd, a private limited company registered in England and Wales. The venue claims to have the longest bar in Europe at 104 feet and 3 inches, a feature that carries its own architectural listing, and anchors its brand around a heritage physical asset, live sport coverage (11 screens with Sky Sports and TNT Sports), karaoke entertainment, and group event hosting. It serves a broad B2C base of Glasgow locals, visitors, sports fans, and group bookings of 1 to 60+ guests, with seven-day opening hours from 11am to midnight.

The business operates a multi-channel go-to-market covering on-site dining and drinking, online table reservations, click-and-collect takeaway via its own website, and delivery through three third-party aggregators (Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat). Revenue is generated through four transactional streams: in-person food and beverage sales, takeaway and delivery, gift cards (digital and physical, £5–£250 denominations, 24-month validity), and pre-booked seasonal events such as Christmas parties. Pricing is unit-based, ranging from a weekday meal-and-drink deal at £7.95 to grills up to £17.75 and main menu items averaging £9.50–£15.25.

The underlying technology stack is conventional for the segment: an online booking system, a takeaway ordering platform, third-party delivery integrations, Google Analytics, Sky guest Wi-Fi, a Guestwise-powered email and personalisation layer, and a 24/7 AI-powered Virtual Assistant built on OpenAI GPT that handles menu and booking queries. Distribution is supported by a 'Join Our Club' email programme and social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Gift cards are issued through Blackhawk Network's Cashstar platform and are redeemable across the broader Mitchells & Butlers estate of over 1,700 UK pubs and restaurants, providing cross-venue customer lock-in within the parent group's ecosystem.

Name

The Horseshoe Bar

Legal name

Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail Ltd

Website

https://thehorseshoebarglasgow.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Horseshoe Bar is a single Victorian pub in Glasgow city centre, operated by Mitchells & Butlers, serving locals, sports fans, and group bookings through dine-in service, takeaway, delivery, and seasonal events. It generates revenue from food and beverage sales, group events, gift cards, and aggregator-based delivery within the M&B estate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pub & Bar Hospitality

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (72241)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood & Sports Bars (THAFAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Bars (CRANACAC), Lounge Bars & Hotel Bars (THAFAEAI)

Keywords

• Pub services
• Food and beverage
• Live sports viewing
• Event bookings
• Gift cards

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

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, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: In-person sales of food, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and cocktails across the pub's main bar and lounge area.
2. Takeaway and Delivery: Collection orders placed via website and delivery through Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat platforms.
3. Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards sold online ranging from £5 to £250, valid for 24 months.
4. Christmas and Events Bookings: Pre-booked group celebrations including festive menus, buffet options, and drinks packages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Horseshoe Bar is a Victorian-era public house in Glasgow featuring the longest bar in Europe at 104 feet and 3 inches. It sells pub food, alcoholic and soft drinks, hosts live sports viewing across 11 screens with Sky Sports and TNT Sports access, runs karaoke nights, and accepts table reservations for groups. It also offers click-and-collect takeaway, delivery via third-party aggregators, Christmas party packages, bottomless brunch, and gift cards valid across Mitchells & Butlers venues.

Product overview

The Horseshoe Bar is a Victorian-era public house in Glasgow operated by Mitchells & Butlers. It operates as a single pub venue (not a platform) with the main product being its pub experience offering food, drinks, and entertainment. The core offering includes a full food and drinks menu, with supplementary services including live sport viewing (Sky Sports/TNT Sports), table booking, takeaway/delivery via third-party platforms, bottomless brunch, and seasonal Christmas packages. An AI-powered Virtual Assistant provides 24/7 customer support and booking assistance. Gift cards are available across the Mitchells & Butlers estate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Horseshoe Bar Pub Experience

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail LimitedcoreOthersParent company and owner of The Horseshoe Bar brand. Mitchells & Butlers is a major UK pub and restaurant operator with over 1,700 venues. Registered in England and Wales at 27 Fleet Street, Birmingham, B3 1JP.
• DeliveroominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood delivery partner allowing customers to order takeaway for home delivery. Part of the 'Dudes on Deliveroo' offering for pizza, chicken, and burgers.
• Uber EatsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood delivery partner enabling customers to receive takeaway orders via the Uber Eats platform.
• Just EatminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFood delivery partner offering takeaway ordering and delivery services to customers.
• Cashstar (Dining Out Gift Cards)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGift card platform provider powering digital and physical gift card sales. Gift cards range from £5 to £250 and are valid for 24 months.
• Blackhawk Network (Europe) LimitedminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGift card agent operating the gift card website on behalf of Mitchells & Butlers. Registered in England and Wales at Westside, London Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Scotia Bar: Long-established traditional Glasgow pub with live music, pub food, drinks, and late-night trading. Comparable heritage venue operating in Glasgow city centre with similar customer demographics.
• All Bar One: A Mitchells & Butlers-owned bar brand operating city centre bars with cocktails, food, sport, and group bookings. Closest in-house sibling brand to The Horseshoe Bar in operating model, customer base, and estate.
• Slug & Lettuce: UK-wide bar chain (operated by Stonegate Pub Company) offering drinks, cocktails, sport, and event-led group bookings in city centre locations. Directly comparable format to The Horseshoe Bar with similar digital booking and events infrastructure.
• JD Wetherspoon: The UK's largest pub chain operating large-format, value-led city centre pubs with food, drink, sport coverage, and group bookings. Most directly comparable operator in terms of scale, format, and value proposition to The Horseshoe Bar.
• The Pot Still: Iconic traditional whisky-focused Glasgow pub offering extensive drinks range, pub food, and live sport. Closest direct local competitor to The Horseshoe Bar in Glasgow city centre with overlapping customer base.
• Box Glasgow: Glasgow city centre sports and entertainment bar with multiple screens for live sport, food and drinks menus, and group bookings. Direct competitor for sport-led customers in the same catchment.

Broad incumbents

• Harvester: Mitchells & Butlers' flagship family-focused pub-restaurant brand. Sister brand under the same parent, providing a useful comparable on group purchasing, marketing infrastructure, and food-led pub economics.
• Greene King: One of the UK's largest pub operators (owned by CK Asset Holdings) running thousands of managed and tenanted pubs including sport-led and community formats. Provides a UK-wide benchmark for pub operating costs, sport rights, and value-led food and drink economics.
• Stonegate Pub Company: Major UK pub operator running brands including Slug & Lettuce, Walkabout, and Sports Bar & Grill. Comparable scale operator focused on sport-led, late-night, and city centre pub formats across the UK.

Regional players

• The Cambridge (Glasgow): Glasgow city centre bar offering cocktails, food, sport coverage, and late-night trading. Regional competitor operating in the same catchment as The Horseshoe Bar with overlapping weekday and weekend trade.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-horseshoe-bar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Horseshoe Bar