More pubs sell prior to auction

17-Sep-2013 - Last updated on 18-Sep-2013 at 06:12 GMT

Auction: a lot of pubs are selling prior to the event

Almost half of the 46 pubs that were put up for auction earlier this month were sold prior to the event.

The data comes from three auctions held by Sidney Phillips, Network Auctions and CP Bigwood in the first week of September.

At a Sidney Phillips sale, eight of 20 (40%) pubs up for auction sold prior to the event.

A further two sold at auction: the Travellers Rest in Malswick, Gloucestershire, went for £225,000, off a guide price of £245,000; and the Tradesmans Arms in Machen, South Wales (£125,000, off a guide of £145,000).

Nine pubs are still up for grabs and one was withdrawn before the auction.

Out of the 14 sites that went under the hammer with Network Auctions, eight (57%) sold prior to the sale. The Plough in New Romney, Kent, went after the event.

The Three Horseshoes in Windsor, Berkshire, sold at auction for £300,000, off a guide of £325,000 to £350,000. And the Flying Dutchman in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, also went for £300,000, off a guide of £330,000. The remaining three properties went unsold.

'A lot of interest'

CP Bigwood’s auction also saw half of the pubs selling before the event. Of the remaining six, three were withdrawn and three went unsold.

CP Bigwood director Ian Tudor said auctions have seen a lot of interest. “We’ve found that, with anything offered, there is a lot of interest,” Tudor told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser.

“These pubs have already been on the market, and once a date is set, it becomes crystallised in people’s minds. It almost pushes people who had been thinking about buying a property.”

Tudor added that an auction generates enough interest for any unsold pubs to go soon after the event. He expects the Royal Oak in Bridgend, Carlton, near Bedford; and the Tavern, in Stafford, to be sold in the next few days.