First university-owned Wetherspoons to open in May

The UK's first Wetherspoons pub owned by a university will be opened in May.

The new bar, which will be called the Sir Ronald Wates, will open on the University of Surrey's campus in Guildford.

Two Wetherspoons pubs in Newcastle and Hull, called Luther's Bar and Sanctuary Bar respectively, are run by the student unions rather than the universities. The University of Birmingham's Guild of Students is also set to open a branch in May.

University of Surrey chief operating officer Will Davies said: "We wanted to give our community a pub-style venue that could offer genuine value for money alongside quality."

The Wetherspoons model means that staffing, prices and licensing will be set by the University of Surrey, while the budget pub chain will provide guidance as the franchisor.

The new pub will be open to the local community as well as students and staff.

It will operate in the Wates House building on the campus, and takes its name from a building firm boss whose family funded the original building.

Staff working in the Wates House bar that closed in December for refurbishment have been retained, the university said.

John Hutson, Wetherspoons' chief executive, said: "We are confident that it will prove popular with students as well as members of the public and be a great addition for the university."

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