ONE of Oxford’s best-known restaurateurs is planning to sell off two of his eateries.

Clinton Pugh, who owns Cafe Coco, Kazbar and Cafe Tarifa, said he planned to “shrink his portfolio” to concentrate on creating a public square between his two remaining restaurants.

He is asking for offers over £350,000 for Cafe Tarifa, in Cowley Road, and of £150,000 for Cafe Coco in Frideswide Square, with the intention of freeing up cash to bring about improvements to Dawson Street.

Mr Pugh, who owns another Cafe Coco restaurant in Cowley Road, said he was also keen to spend more time focusing on helping his children – Toby Sebastian, Bella Rose and Flossy Rose – to enter the music business.

He said: “I have been trying to get the Dawson Street square done since 2006.

“I moved to this area when it was very derelict and in an appaling state. I want to help bring alive this end of Cowley Road and bring some light and energy to the road.”

The idea is to level the area between his remaining Cafe Coco restaurant and Kazbar, as well as plant trees and install benches.

The two restaurants already have chairs and tables out in good weather, and Mr Pugh has two empty shop units in the no-through road which he hopes to use as an emporium and market.

Planning permission was granted in 2006 and Oxford City Council has pledged £19,000 to the scheme, but Mr Pugh estimated he needed at least the same amount again to complete the improvements.

Mr Pugh, who previously owned The Lemon Tree, Cafe Baba and The Grand Cafe, said having so many different interests meant he was “running around plate-spinning”.

He said: “I want to make the things I have got better and get that square finished.”

The square could then be held for different kinds of community events, such as artists’ and farmers’ markets.

Both businesses are to be sold as going concerns, but the new owners would not be able to use the name Cafe Coco.

Mr Pugh said: “I would rather not be selling them but I have got other things to do and I want to concentrate on them.”

He described Cafe Tarifa as “the trendiest bar in Oxford” but admitted the Frideswide Square Cafe Coco had proved a challenging location.