B&P buys listed freehold

Brunning & Price, the gastropub operator owned by the Restaurant Group, has bought a freehold pub as it gears up to open four new pubs a year.

It's acquired the freehold of the Old Hall in Sandbach, Cheshire, following a campaign by locals to save the venue.

The 17th-century property has been empty for more than four years, during which time it had been a victim of vandalism.

This week, the pub operator confirmed it had bought the freehold for an undisclosed sum from British Virgin Islands-based Qualitair.

Brunning & Price plans a "root and branch renovation" of the site. The Grade I-listed building is a high priority on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register.

Last year, Brunning & Price, which operates 16 pubs, completed a renovation of Sutton Hall outside Macclesfield — a 16th-century hall that had also been on the register — now trading as a pub restaurant after a substantial rescue scheme.

"We've completed quite a few projects like this over the years," said managing director Graham Price.

"We're confident we'll give the hall the treatment it deserves to ensure it prospers well into the future, and will again be a building Sandbach can be proud of."

Malcolm Thurston, chairman of Save the Old Hall Action Group, said: "This is marvellous news. Hopefully, this is the reward for all the tireless efforts and energy of our excellent members."

The Old Hall, built in 1656, is thought to be one of the last genuine wattle and daub black and white buildings to be completed in England.

Brunning & Price is also looking to recruit a right-hand man or woman, on a salary of around £40,000 year, to work alongside its operations director Jo Meakin as it steps up expansion.