All Wight on the night for new pub owners
The Winchester office of specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has sold two pubs on the Isle of Wight, on behalf of Red Oak Taverns.
Red Oak Taverns acquired both of these sites in August 2015 as part of their 146 pub acquisition of the GRS pub estate.
Having been closed for a number of years, both The Loft, a former nightclub on the High Street in Ryde and Sportsman’s Rest, named recently as an Asset of Community Interest, have been acquired by Hampshire based Havenbrae Pub Co, who moved quickly to acquire both sites.
Plans are afoot to reopen both pubs following an extensive refurbishment programme, giving Havenbrae a presence on the Island with the aim of restoring the assets for use by their local communities.
Richard Wood, Business Agent at Christie & Co commented: “It’s been a pleasure being involved in a deal that sees two former public houses reopen their doors after several years of being closed, illustrating demand from regional pub companies for licensed premises in the area.
“Over the past 12 months, we have seen that 84 % of the pub properties sold by Christie & Co continued to trade as pubs, and it’s great to see this trend continuing, especially at a time when publicans are constantly under pressure. We are seeing a huge rise in demand for pub properties that can be operated as community pubs, which put “the local” back at the heart of community life.
“We wish Havenbrae Pub Co success with these new pubs as they continue to expand their estate.”
Peter Harding, owner of Havenbrae Pub Co, says: “We are delighted with these two new acquisitions which now give us a diverse portfolio of public houses throughout the South. We are hoping to have these two new sites open for business shortly.”
