Christie & Co sell iconic venue in Manchester’s Gay Village
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has completed on the sale of The Molly House, an iconic city centre bar situated within Manchester’s vibrant Gay Village, to a first time buyer with funding secured through specialist commercial finance broker, Christie Finance.
Enjoying a prominent position on Richmond Street, set back from the popular Canal Street, The Molly House serves a wide array of real ales, beers, wines, spirits and cocktails, alongside a diverse food offering that encompasses Spanish and South American tapas, brunch and lunch.
The business can accommodate up to 208 covers across four distinct trade areas: the ground floor Public Bar & Tea Room, the lavishly appointed first floor Bordello bar with a covered terrace area, and the late licensed Company Bar which is situated within the basement.
Brian Flockhart has owned the venue, which is run under management, for the past 21 years and sought a sale in order to retire. Brian comments, “We are delighted to have sold the property and business and congratulate Henry and all the team at Christie & Co for their efforts to make this happen. Simon and I would like to extend our thanks and best wishes to all our current and past customers, to our staff, and especially Paul and James, who have worked so hard over the years to make The Molly House and Company Bar the success that they are.”
The Molly House has been purchased by Henry Kennedy-Skipton, a first time buyer who plans to continue to run the business under management, whilst updating and modernising the interiors in order to capitalise on the potential of the trading location of both the Molly House and the late licensed Company Bar. Henry comments, “This is an iconic venue in a vibrant part of the city. The previous owner did a great job; now the opportunity exists to improve the venue even further, something which excites me greatly. This will benefit our customers and the Village as a whole. I would like to thank Christie Finance for helping make the deal happen, Alena Ray was a great help in ensuring that the purchase took place.”
Funding for the deal was secured for Mr Kennedy-Skipton by Alena Ray at Christie Finance, who comments, “We’re pleased to have assisted Henry in obtaining the funding he needed for his first hospitality acquisition. Working with a first time buyer adds additional complexity as we need to mitigate the risk to the lender, but as we offer a whole of market approach, we were able to find the right funding solution to allow Henry to fulfil his exciting plans for the Molly House.”
Keith Stringer, Director at Christie & Co handled the sale and comments, “The established trading history of The Molly House gives Henry a great base to build from and we wish him every success with the business, as well as wishing Brian a long and happy retirement.”
“Freehold properties within Manchester city centre continue to attract interest from a range of parties, particularly as most prime sites tend to be available only on a leasehold basis, and Christie & Co have access to a wide pool of applicants who are seeking similar opportunities.”
The Molly House was sold on a freehold basis off an asking price of £1,295,000.
