New deal to help pub sales

Acorn Commercial Finance, the property finance broker, has teamed up with a specialist lender to offer funding to people looking to buy pubs that don't have accounts.

Paul Thompson, a partner at Acorn, declined to identify the lender involved but said the move would have a positive impact on the trade, with offers of finance tabled on a case-by-case basis.

"As has been well reported, most high street banks have reviewed their criteria for lending in the past 24 months and as a rule licensed businesses presented to them without accounts have been very difficult to secure lending against," Thompson said.

"With most high street players shying away from this type of business, we can now look at breathing new life in to this type of deal, as well as reviewing some packages that will have failed to gain funding in the past," he added.

Thompson said deals would still need to 'stack up' to the lender, and applications must be strong.

"Where we see this development of being particular interest is for those looking to take advantage of the low property prices that are currently available and buying their first freehold pub or expanding their current estate," he said.

"I'm confident that working in partnership with the lender, we will help many more people take the first step to owning their own freehold."

Meanwhile, Thompson said that 100 per cent finance for sitting tenants looking to buy the freehold of their pub from their pub company was still available.

"Deals are being done," he added.