Hydes buys £3m complex

Manchester brewer Hydes is to launch its biggest ever development to create a new pub and restaurant complex at Hyde in Cheshire.

The family-owned company is splashing out £3m on the purchase and redevelopment of the 19th-century Bamford Hall & Bluebell

Centre at Gee Cross. The hall already runs a successful restaurant, coffee and gift shop, which Hydes has acquired through the purchase and will continue to operate as a going concern.

Conversion work is expected to begin this month with an opening date set for next September. The hall was built in the 1870s and has been a private residence for much of the time except for a short period when it was an ICI conference centre.

Hydes managing director Chris Hopkins said: "The acquisition is a fantastic opportunity. It will make a stunning pub restaurant which will also offer great potential for events and functions in a really attractive setting. We are aiming to offer the very best in food drink and hospitality at this fine site, which is easily accessible to many parts of south Manchester and Stockport."

Hydes operates a tied estate of 70 managed and tenanted pubs in the north-west. It dates from the 1860s and has been brewing on its Moss Side site in Manchester since 1899. Besides producing beers and lagers for its own estate the company has seen a significant growth in contract brewing over the past five years.