ENTREPRENEUR Mark Robertson is bucking the gloom of the licensed trade to open his second pub in two years.

Mark, 48, of Linthwaite, was the man behind The Barking Spider in Huddersfield town centre.

Now he has spent £400,000 turning the former Waterloo in Wakefield Road, Waterloo, into a traditional real ale pub.

While many pubs and licensed premises have been forced out of business due to cheap supermarket alcohol, the impact of the recession and the smoking ban, Mark is pressing ahead.

In February he bought the former Waterloo pub and has given it a complete refurbishment.

He plans to run it himself for 12 months before leasing it out.

“I can’t pretend that the pub trade isn’t difficult, of course it is, but many of the problems are caused by the big breweries,” said Mark.

“The breweries charge high rents and put restrictions on what tenants can do, and that makes it hard for licensees to make a living.

“If you aren’t tied to a brewery and have to buy your beer from them, it’s possible to make a go of it.”

Mark, who has a partner Kymm and daughter Florence, aged two, turned the old West Riding pub in Albion Street, Huddersfield, into a modern bar, re-naming it The Barking Spider.

Now, two years on, he has turned his attention to the Waterloo, which will also have a name-change.

His revamp has included taking out the kitchen, moving the bar into the centre of the premises, removing the old pool room and changing the entrance.

Walls have been taken down, the stone floor levelled and re-laid and old fireplaces opened up. Flats will be rented out upstairs.

Two former garages outside will be converted into a cafe which will also be let separately. A planning application has been submitted.

Mark said: “Anyone who came to the pub before won’t recognise the place. It’s been transformed.”

Mark aims to open the pub at the end of July and welcomes suggestions for a new name.

There has been some local opposition to the cafe plan but Mark said: “We are not creating anything that these premises haven’t had before.

“The cafe will complement the pub and we are improving the local area.”