The Cat and Wickets Pub Company

A tale of nine-lived cats and ever-flowing taps, where a griffin rises from the ashes as quiet proof of resilience.

In a landscape where hospitality has weathered some of its most challenging years, The Cat & Wickets Pub Company stands as a rare story of heart, heritage and comeback. Founded by professional cricketers Harry Gurney and Stuart Broad, the company was built on a simple belief: that great pubs are not just businesses, but the backbone of local communities. 

But endings aren’t part of this team’s playbook. The Cat & Wickets doesn’t get bowled out. It’s built on grit. Rather than retreat, Gurney, Broad and their crew dug in, committing themselves to rebuilding not just a pub, but a place of belonging. What followed was a £1.3m restoration: a bold, determined push to turn devastation into opportunity and memory into momentum.

That belief was put to the ultimate test in June 2022, when a devastating overnight fire tore through the much-loved Tap & Run in Upper Broughton. Once an award-winning gastropub, it was reduced to a shell of charred beams, collapsed roofing and smoke-scarred brickwork. For many, it felt like an innings cut brutally short, leaving both the business and its community stunned.

A year later, the Tap & Run rose from the ashes—lighter, brighter and filled with renewed energy. Its revival was more than a rebuild; it became a symbol of what can happen when a community rallies behind a space that matters. The pub reopened its doors not just reimagined, but re-anchored, ready to welcome locals, visitors and Sunday-roast regulars back to the heart of village life.

Alongside it stand The Griffin Inn in Swithland and The Long Hop in Burton-on-Trent—each with its own identity, yet united by a shared philosophy. These are pubs shaped with intention: warm interiors, thoughtful food, genuine hospitality and a sense of place that feels earned rather than designed. Together, they form the character and strength of the Cat & Wickets family.

Because at Cat & Wickets, hospitality isn’t just served. It’s lived.

https://www.thecatandwickets.com/