A HAMPSHIRE pub is re-opening for business after a lightning-quick refurbishment by its new owner.

Jonathan Spencer, who also owns The Rising Sun in Colden Common and The Dolphin in Hursley, threw a party on the eve of the beginning of his new business venture, inviting friends, family and locals (as well as the Chronicle) to have a look inside the freshly revamped pub.

Mr Spencer was handed the keys to the building in Harestock on Tuesday, August 13, which re-opens officially on Friday, August 23, meaning that in just ten days he has turned the establishment around in a bid to make it a "real pub of the area".

READ MORE: The March Hare new owner to make it a 'real pub of the area'

The March Hare on the eve of its opening to the public (Image: Sebastian Haw)

Among the various changes he has made is the reinstatement of The March Hare's original signage, which proudly displays the pub's namesake animal in stripey trousers while pouring tea from a teapot.

Mr Spencer said: “It has been a complete renovation – it's a six-figure investment. The floors and the walls have been stripped back, we're getting new carpet and lighting. It will look like a brand new pub come Friday morning."

Bar manager Ria Conduct was delighted with the evening's attendance as the pub filled up with Harestock punters.

She said: “We are absolutely loving it. We want it to be a community pub and the fact that so many locals have turned up is fantastic. We’re loving it.”

Mr Spencer is looking forward to welcoming people through the doors when the pub opens officially.

SEE ALSO: Hampshire country pub to receive CAMRA award for 50 years of good beer

He said: “As soon as the kitchen opens, which will be mid-September, there will be a really fresh food offering including pizzas, pub classics and some of our signatures from the group, so we do a famous dish called bang bang cauliflower which is vegan and 100 per cent gluten free, really tasty. 

“We'll have a great selection of real ales, non-alcoholic cocktails, regular cocktails and an extensive wine list. We'll also have a pool team, darts team, poker nights and hopefully a football team. 

“The most exciting part is that we have actually found the original sign from when the pub was built in 1972.”