The Final Furlong mobile bar was inspired by an upward trend in the sales of gin combined with the long-time ambition for Matt to become landlord of a pub. As the summer of 2017 drew to a close and having attended several summer festivals and open-air events, Matt decided that his career needed a change of direction to follow his passion for working in the pub industry. Finding the right pub was a problem – the market was becoming harder and harder to join without re-locating the family. The option of a mobile bar suddenly became very appealing.

During a very intense gin tasting session which would form part of the extensive product research, the concept of The Final Furlong was born. A bar that served the finest quality products that could be taken to venues around the country had to be the answer.

What followed next was a painful process of hours spent trawling through online adverts looking for the right horse trailer suitable for conversion. The rewards finally came when the unit used today was discovered about 45 miles from home in a field near Ipswich. The horse trailer was purchased and towed back to base and work began almost immediately stripping back the trailer to an empty shell and then transforming it into the vision of The Final Furlong. This process took about 12 months, which was longer than expected but there have been no shortcuts in the renovation.

Having got several events under our belts during 2019 and with many more booked in for the months ahead, this is a very exciting time for the team at The Final Furlong.

Along the way, many people have been involved in the transformation who have offered skills in their own specialist discipline. Thanks go to Glenn for a lot of the initial “grunt work”, to my brother Wayne for his invaluable support, time and effort and of course to Martin, a local farrier, who branded the bar tops with horse shoes to give it the unique finish. thanks also go to my wife and children who have allowed me the chance to follow the project through to this point.