Punch lessess secures pub for £500k under valuation

A Punch Taverns lessee has managed to secure the freehold of their pub for £500,000 less than its valuation.

Carl Scourfield and John Wright approached Punch to buy the freehold of the Pied Bull in Chester back in March, but struggled to find finance to meet the £1.45m valuation.

The pair who have owned the leasehold on the pub for just over two years, were able to secure a loan for 60 per cent of the purchase price after approaching Acorn Commercial Finance. They say that after informing Punch of their top budget, they secured the pub for £950,000.

Scourfield said: "It's taken a long time to secure the sale. We originally made an offer in February but £950,000 was our top budget. Finding finance proved to be very tricky at the moment. We were rejected by three banks before the Unity Trust Bank agreed a deal for us.

"The exterior of the pub was renovated last year. We plan to revamp our letting accommodation as we have 12 rooms and we are very excited about being able to extend our range of real ale and to buy locally."

The listed Pied Bull was built in 1133 and includes a restaurant for 80 people.