Property market sees blurring of pubs, bars and cafés
'Cash-rich' pub-goers demand more from a night out
The difference between pubs, restaurants, bars and cafés - particularly in the property market - is beginning to blur, according to agent Fleurets.
In the last six months Fleurets has seen a large increase in the amount of chefs who want to buy what have always been traditional pub sites, as well as bar operators buying restaurant sites.
One such example is the Vine Inn in Hannington, Berkshire. The freehold interest of the village pub was sold, for George Gale & Co, to chef Giles Lines.
The pub had been under-trading, partly because it has a remote location, but it has since become a successful à la carte restaurant which is popular with locals and business customers.
In Battersea, London, a conversion from restaurant to bar is under way. After 11 years trading as a popular Mexican restaurant, the premises that were El Gran Taco are being refurbished by new owners Mark Thompson and Beckett Church.
When the conversion is complete the new-look Project Orange (pictured) will be a wet-led lounge bar - a completely different venue from El Gran Taco.
Katrina Jennings from Fleurets predicts that altering properties will remain big business for some time to come, as independent buyers begin to take on the multiple operators.
"Identifying the right buyer enables us to achieve swifter sales of run-down or under-trading venues to alternative buyers," she said.
Customers with a firm idea of what they expect from a pub are leading to this shift in pub sales, according to Fleurets.
The company has seen a boom in the number of pubs sold to form the basis of new projects, with little distinction between pubs and restaurants.
Britain's hospitality industry is worth about £50bn, of which half is food and drink consumption. It is estimated that by 2025 more than half of all meals in the UK will be eaten outside the home - providing big business for pubs.
The pub trade has been reacting to this shift for several years and pub companies have already introduced new concepts such as Fuller's Fine Line to meet demand.
But things are shifting again - and customers are becoming even more discerning. People are more food and drink aware and have more money to spend.
Known as "cash-rich but time-poor" customers, they are turning back to their locals to provide a good night out - and a good meal and the trend shows no sign of abating as agents explore the possibilities.
Katrina Jennings said: "This increase in competitor activity and the "mould-breaking" market means we need to look deeper into the alternative uses of our clients' property."
