Individual Inns' 5th site

North Yorkshire-based dining pub operator Individual Inns has added a fifth venue to its portfolio with the purchase of the Wheatley Hotel, at Ben Rhydding near Ilkley.

The company acquired the freehold property off an asking price of £800,000 from Punch Taverns which failed to sell the pub and adjoining land for a multi-million-pound housing scheme when it was refused planning consent last year.

The sale represents a major victory for local residents who waged a six-year campaign to retain it as a public house.

Individual Inns, headed by former Bass Leisure retail director Ewan Harries, is now planning a major refurbishment and development scheme for the pub, which is due to reopen next spring.

"It's a perfect site located in the sort of prosperous area that we feel will be highly suited to the way we run our pubs. Like our other venues, we will seek to offer customers a quality dining experience in a traditional pub," said Harries.

The company now owns five country dining houses including its flagship site, the Tempest Arms at Elslack, North Yorkshire.