The Barracuda Group has opened two Smith & Jones pubs in Dalkieth, Scotland and Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

The two new pubs are the first of seven new openings planned by the group in August, including five new acquisitions and two refurbishments, in an investment totalling more than £4.5m.

The other five sites are situated in Newbury, Berkshire; North Shields, North Tyneside; Prestatyn, Denbighshire and Houndsditch and Aldermanbury in the City of London.

Mark McQuater, chief executive, said: “The opening of seven new pubs in August is a snapshot of where we are as a business. The Dalkieth site is now our 11th pub in Scotland and also the fifth that we’ve opened there this year, proving that there are a still a lot of towns across the UK that are underprovided in terms of a high quality pub or bar.”

Barracuda currently operates 206 pubs and bars across in the UK, from Elgin in Scotland to Newquay in Cornwall, and plans to open a further 14 by the end of the year.

Photograph: The Case in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire