A POPULAR pub near Tetbury has brought in two hospitality hotshots to oversee its major renovation and development.

The Cat and Custard Pot Inn in Shipton Moyne is undergoing a makeover that, along with a new dining room and restroom facilities, will see the much-loved village boozer’s upstairs living accommodation turned into five luxurious bed and breakfast rooms.

The pub was bought last year by private owners who have employed management duo Francois Peters and Oli McCabe to oversee the refurbishment as well as develop the pub’s dining and drinking experience.

Francois was most recently part of the team that opened The Kings Head in Cirencester, and also boasts senior management experience from Lords of the Manor Hotel in Upper Slaughter near Stow-on-the-Wold, which this month retained its Michelin star for the ninth year running.

Oli, on the other hand, has worked within and for the Four Pillars Hotel chain as well as the Vineyard Group.

Francois said: “The pub can be the heart and soul of a community and we don’t want to change that.

“You see pubs closing all the time and the new owners did not want to see this happen to such a famous inn, so alongside the new dining room and bedrooms we have been brought into strengthen what is already here and that is a great little local pub.”

Oli has been brought in specifically for his restaurant management skills.

“This is going to be a fab country pub with rooms,” he said. “I fell in love with it the second I saw it. The food here will be simple pub food, done well.”