A Bradford leisure firm has invested £700,000 by buying three pubs.

Leisure Management Ltd secured three new pubs in Bradford, Baildon and Wakefield, adding to its growing list of outlets.

It signed a deal with Bradford company Skylark Taverns Ltd for Hudson's in Great Horton Road, the former Zorber's restaurant site in Baildon's Westgate and O'Donoghues pub in Wakefield.

Alan Harper, managing director of Leisure Management, said: "We will be managing Hudson's ourselves and there is already a tenant in place at O'Donoghues.

"We are spending around £350,000 on the Baildon site which is going to be an exciting development. The upper floor will be a new bar area and the barrel-ceiling basement will become a restaurant."

Leisure Management was formed in 1996, having earlier been a sole trading business, and is based in Daisy Hill Lane, Bradford.

It currently has a stable of 15 freehold pubs and 25 leaseholds - mainly in West Yorkshire but with a number in the south of England.

Mr Harper said he envisaged the five-strong management team would turnover around £6 million this year.

He said: "These latest acquisitions are excellent properties and will no doubt help raise profits of the company.

"This is a fairly large investment and shows the strong growth of Leisure Management over a relatively short period of time."