If you've always fancied running the kind of pub you drink in as a regular, the opportunity to do so could not lie so much at the bottom of your glass, as under it.

A pub company with plans to expand its operations in South Wales and the south of England, has taken the novel approach of advertising for prospective tenants among its customers - on drip mats under their drinks.

Celtic Inns, which owns more than 60 pubs across the southern half of the UK, has printed thousands of drip mats to distribute across its estate, branded with the challenge:

Could you run a pub like this?

Intrigued punters picking up their pints and turning over the mats will be met with the invitation: "If you have the business flair and people skills needed to run a successful pub, then check out our web site www.celticinns.co.uk for details of available pubs."

Director Clive Williams said a programme was under way to identify suitable community pubs to bring into Celtic Inns' portfolio, each with a new tenant. This follows a £10m acquisition fund from Sand Aire Private Equity and Royal Bank of Scotland last year. "We own particular kinds of pubs - community pubs which are rooted in the locality they serve, and which concentrate on good beer and atmosphere for their regulars," said Mr Williams."It struck us that the logical place to find the right kind of tenants."