Vendors incentivise pub sales

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

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.

Meanwhile, 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.