Enterprise sells five more pubs

Enterprise Inns is continuing its success at auction — last week eight pubs went under the hammer, and five sold, raising more than £1m.

Auctioneers Breach Wood Ingram sold three of the pubs prior to the sale, while two sold on the day. Of the remaining three, BWI valuer Stuart Laing said: "We have already had offers on these."

The pubs auctioned were located throughout Wales and the south-west, and most were vacant and sold for redevelopment — though Laing said Devon pub the Fountain Inn was likely to remain as a pub, as was Filos Bar in Bath.

Simon Millar, head of estates at Enterprise Inns, said: "We're very pleased. This has been our third sale since Christmas, and we've sold about 20 pubs as a result. It is a good way of selling closed pubs, which can otherwise prove tricky. We haven't got any definite inclusions in upcoming auctions, but we plan to send a modest number of pubs through during the year."

Laing said: "This shows that pubs are still doing quite well at auction. Most are being sold for redevelopment as they have such big square footage."

The pubs that failed to sell were: the Harp Inn, Skewen, Neath, West Glamorgan, which had a guide price of £70,000 to £80,000; the Cross Inn, Morriston, Swansea, West Glamorgan, which had a guide price of £90,000 to £110,000; and the Fishes, Highworth, Swindon, Wiltshire, which had a guide of £155,000 to £175,000.