Property briefs
- Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises has invested £12m in purchasing 25 new properties over the last year bringing its estate to 1,124 pubs.
The company is looking to cherry-pick both individual sites and groups of pubs in good locations over the next year.
It is looking for pubs across the country in rural, suburban and rural areas.
The company made its first multiple acquisition of five pubs in North Wales from the Newborough Pub Company for £2.2m this year.
Meanwhile, Scottish & Newcastle Retail, the pub division that is currently up for sale, is continuing with the roll-out of its Chef & Brewer pub-restaurant chain.
The Bridge Hotel, Waterbeach, Cambridge, was acquired from Mansons Hotels in an off-market deal. The site will be transformed into a Chef & Brewer offering 145 covers.
Shepherd Neame is continuing with its plans to add accommodation to sites across its pub estate.
The Evenhill at Littlebourne, near Canterbury, is the latest to be transformed by the Kent brewer and pub operator at a cost of £600,000 for a purpose-built annex with 16 rooms.
This new accommodation brings the number of bedrooms across the estate to 200, all in the three or four diamond English Tourism Board categories.
Hydes, the Manchester brewer, has purchased the former Beefeater, the Old Hall in Altrincham, Cheshire. The brewer is to serve home cooked food and offer a wide ranging menu at the pub.
The company has also reopened its restaurant and bar Corbans in Hale Barn's, Cheshire. The site has a new champagne and cocktail bar and a first floor function suite.
The Olde Smithy Inn in Welcombe, North Devon, a thatched Grade II-listed property believed to date from the 13th century, is up for sale.
The village has a village shop, post office, pottery and craft centre, church and beach with caravan and holiday parks in the vicinity.
The detached property has a main bar to seat 32, the Forge bar which seats 30 people, a commercial kitchen and cellar, a two-bedroom self-contained flat and a beer garden.
Christie & Co is looking for offers in the region of £400,000 for the freehold. Call 013992 285600.
English Country Inns has purchased the Huntsman in Downend, Bristol. The pub is in a large residential area to the east of Bristol and has two large bars, a function room and restaurant. The company will be running the property as a managed house.
The site has a turnover of £500,000 per annum and offers for the site were in the region of £150,000 for the leasehold including the goodwill and trade fixtures.
Agent Moore Wood & Cockram handled the sale.
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