WHEN Geoff Abbott walks into one of his pubs it is highly unlikely that the staff, other than the landlord, will recognise him.

That's the way he likes it. He prefers to keep a very low profile, giving full responsibility for the running of the public houses to individual landlords.

"My function is very much a support function in helping landlords to do their job. They are the bosses in their pubs and are in the front line," he said.

"I provide the tools, such as payroll, advertising and marketing. The landlords run the pubs. I give them the pub, I give them the stock and I trust them. They are running the business on the ground and they make the pub."

Geoff, who originally came from Zimbabwe in the early 1970s, had a variety of jobs, including working for a medical equipment manufacturing company, before he bought his first village pub in 1996.

That was The Dumb Bell in Chalfont St Peter and since then he has acquired eight more in Bucks and Herts, including the Red Lion in Penn, the Pink and Lily in Lacey Green and his latest, the Rose and Crown in Cholesbury, bought in January this year.

The pubs, acquired either on a leasehold or freehold basis, were bought through his company Bratzz, which he runs with a silent partner. A going concern, he said, can cost around £800,000 and one that needs development anything between £300,000 to £400,000.

Geoff has deliberately concentrated on buying village pubs, all within a 20-minute drive of Chalfont St Giles, which serve freshly prepared pub food, as well as providing a focal point for the community.

At the Red Lion there is a thriving golf society, darts and cricket teams among others and two football teams regularly meet at the pub.

John Burley, who runs the Red Lion with his wife Sue, and has worked with Geoff since 1996, said: "I enjoy the independence of running my own pub. I am the boss and it is the only way I could work."