Varsity was founded by Wolverhampton & Dudley in the mid-1990s, and was named after annual university sports competitions.
[1] The first Varsity opened in Wolverhampton and was the site of concerts by numerous notable musicians throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Queens of the Stone Age, Baka Beyond, The Olivia Tremor Control, Headswim, Hurricane #1, The Idoru, Kenickie, The High Llamas, Colin MacIntyre, Ian McNabb, Mundy, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Heather Nova, Mike Peters, 3 Colours Red, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, and Theaudience.
[2][3] In 2001, Silverfleet Capital's Barracuda Group bought 50 pubs from Wolverhampton & Dudley for £37.25 million, which included the entire Varsity chain.
[4] In 2005, the Barracuda Group was sold to Charterhouse Capital Partners for £262 million.
[8] The pub in Coventry is now the only one still bearing the Varsity name, though it is still operated by Stonegate.