Buying a pub suitable for renovation

If you’re planning to buy a pub that requires renovation or you plan to carry out major structural changes, ensure that you have an accurate estimate of the costs.

Planning Permission

If you plan to make structural changes to a pub, particularly a large extension, you must ensure that you will be able to obtain planning permission.

Property Surveys

A survey is often vital, particularly if you’re buying an old pub or a pub with a large plot of land.

New Life for An Old Pub

In the past year, 2,377 pubs have shut their doors across the UK - among them, the Bull's Head in the village of Boreham Street, East Sussex.

"As a villager, I was concerned that our community centre was, in effect, closing," says John Tomkins, who has lived in Boreham Street for more than a decade. The Bull's Head - the only pub in the village - was the first stop for local gossip and a good drink.

By Easter Saturday, a group of concerned locals and another publican stepped in to breathe new life into the Bull's Head. On 27 April, it opened again for business.
Diversification seems to be the key; To increase the pub's offerings so he's not solely reliant on across-the-bar business. The pub is attached to about eight acres of land, which Mr Corfield thinks may hold the key to its survival.So far, the Bull's Head has hosted a boot sale on this land, and other events, such as clay pigeon shoots, are in the pipeline for the future.

Charity events will also be key, Mr Corfield says. He organised an evening of live music with a raffle and auction for Help for Heroes, the charity that supports wounded soldiers. Events like this bring business into the pub, support a cause, and strengthen the pub's identity as a community hub.

He has also planted potatoes and started to raise farm animals, including chickens and pigs. The spuds, eggs and pork will be used in the pub kitchen, and the excess will be sold, bringing in additional revenue.This type of diversification is vital to the pub's future, says Mr Corfield.

Sales at major pub and restaurant chains holding up

Sales at the UK’s major restaurant and pub operators are generally holding up against last year despite the squeeze on consumer spending and increased competition from supermarkets, research has revealed.

Aggregated figures from 12 major groups – including Mitchells & Butlers, Whitbread, Punch Pub Company, Gondola Holdings and Tragus - show that like-for-like sales in May were up by 0.6% compared to last year, and 3.7% up compared to April.

Pubs in Australia prove attractive to investors

THREE Melbourne pubs leased to a Woolworths-backed company have been sold for more than $16 million in heated auctions at Crown Casino.

The Elsternwick Hotel in Elwood, the Rose Shamrock & Thistle in Reservoir and the Rifle Club Hotel in Williamstown sold separately to three wealthy individuals - one from Sydney and two from Melbourne.

Agents say the buyers were attracted by the "blue-chip" tenant, Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group, in which Woolworths has a 75 per cent stake. Melbourne publican Bruce Mathieson owns the remainder.

The pubs sold on investment yields as low as 5 per cent, prompting agents to speculate that private buyers, disgruntled by sharemarket and banking returns, are now prepared to pay more for pubs - relative to their rental income - than in previous months.

Pub sales agents incentivise pub sales

Vendor loans to buyers and part exchange for residential homes now account for up to 25% of UK pub sales, according to UK pub sales agents, as sellers become more imaginative in an effort to clinch deals.

Gavin Sherman of Paramount Investments said an Admiral Taverns site in Dover was being split into two sites, in an effort to secure a sale.

The one-acre site was originally marketed at £550,000, but the vendors obtained planning consent for four luxury homes on part of the land, which will be sold off separately. The Royal Oak pub will now be marketed at £250,000, while the land will be sold for £300,000.

Graham Allman, managing director of GA-Select, said about 25% of deals being brokered offered the buyer some kind of incentive. He said some vendors were offering to pay stamp duty “which can be quite substantial,” or including “lock, stock and barrel” in the purchase price and even a “buy one get one free” deal on a hotel plus pub (see box, right).

Stephen Taylor, managing director of Guy Simmonds, said: “Many sellers are interested in taking residential properties in part exchange and vendor loans where there is a shortfall.” He estimated that “around 10% of deals” now had some kind of incentive attached.

Robin Mence, managing director at Sidney Phillips, said part exchange and vendor loans, common in the last recession, had resurfaced in the last nine to 12 months. “There’s a real awareness of conditions in the market — though it’s still not common, it accounts for sub 10% of deals,” he said.

Cheap pubs for quick sale

1/ Plume Of Feathers, 135 Hotwell Rd, Bristol, Avon BS8 4RU - £225,000 - GF PUB AND 2 FLOORS OF 'UPPERS' IN GOOD RETAIL LOCATION - GOOD POTENTIAL FOR INVESTMENT/REDEVELOPMENT

2/ Albion, 2 Flanshaw Lane, Alverthorpe, Wakefield, West Yorks WF2 9JH - £165,000 - 7,500 SQ.FT GROSS SITE AREA IN GOOD LOCATION FOR REGENERATION

3/ Atlas, Bawtry Road, Brinsworth, Rotherham, Sth Yorks S60 5DN - £350,000 - 23,300 sq.ft GROSS SITE AREA WITH 7,000 SQ.FT+ BUILDING IN SITU

4/ Bridge Inn, College Rd, Hereford, Herefordshire HR1 1JR - £195,000 - 23,786 SQ.FT GROSS SITE AREA

5/ Bulls Head, Clotton, Tarporley, Cheshire CW6 0EG - £275,000 -30,350 SQ.FT GROSS SITE AREA IN PROMINENT VILLAGE LOCATION IN CLOTTON

6/ Castle Inn, Wrexham Rd, Brynteg, Wrexham, Clwyd LL11 6HP - £200,000

7/ Holywell Inn, 249 Stainland Rd, Holywell Green, Halifax, West Yorks HX4 9AJ - £200,000

8/ Robin Hood, 163 Chester Rd, Helsby, Cheshire WA6 0AU - £400,000 - 19,133 SQ.FT GROSS SITE AREA - PUB + LAND WITH POTENTIAL FOR REDEVELOPMENT

9/ Royal Oak, 126 Sandwich Rd, Dover, Kent CT16 3JP - £550,000 - PUB AND LAND AVAILABLE SEPARATELY OR TOGETHER... WITH PLANNING PERMISSION FOR 4 LUXURY HOUSES

10/ West End Retreat, 2 Browne St, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4QY - £135,000 - LAND ONLY FOR SAL WITH PLANNING PERMISSION FOR 4 X 2-BED FLATS

11/ Wheatley Wells, Wheatley Rd, Halifax, W.Yorks HX3 5JF - £225,000

London properties suitable for redevelopment

Paramount Investments have a number of properties with planning permission for sale.

Property for sale in Rotherhite, London SE16
London property with planning consent
Property for sale in Bermondsey London SE1
London development site for sale
West End Property For Sale
Investment property for sale in London W2
Property for sale in Camden, London N7

Pubs for Sale in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire

Cricketers: 145 Thame Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 7DD: FREEHOLD £395,000

Vacant possession
Development potential (STPP)
Approx gross site area: 11,116 sqft

Elephant & Castle: 185 Waterside, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 1PG: FREEHOLD £325,000

Vacant possession
Development potential (STPP
Approx gross site area: 6,974 sqft

Chequers: 48 Watling Street, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK2 2BY: FREEHOLD £200,000

Development potential (STPP)
Approx gross site area: 4,373 sqft
Subject to occupational tenancy until September 2011

Pubs For Sale in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire

UK pubs for sale: All suitable for continued or alternative uses stpp.

Black Boy: 14 Moorgate, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 6RH: FREEHOLD £175,000

Full Vacant possession
Development potential (STPP
Approx gross site area: 9,984 sq.ft.

Cross Keys: Main Street, Nr Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG23 5SY: FREEHOLD £225,000

Subject to an occupational tenancy
Development potential (STPP)
Approx gross site area: 12,784 sq.ft

Dunkirk Inn: 71 Montpelier Road, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2JY: FREEHOLD £275,000

Full Vacant possession
Development potential (STPP)
Approx gross site area: 12,730 sqft


Vauxhall: 1 Hessle Road, Hull, Yorkshire, HU3 2AA: FREEHOLD £175,000

Subject to an occupational tenancy until 2011
Development potential (STPP)
Approx gross internal area: 5,900 sqft

Commercial Inn: Bridge Street, Pilsey, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S45 8HE: FREEHOLD £200,000

Subject to an occupational tenancy
Development potential (STPP)
Approx gross site area: 11,634 sqft