Punch host gets cut-price deal on pub

A Punch lessee from Buckinghamshire has bought her pub's freehold for 20% less than its market value.

Helen Wood bought the Broad Leys in Aylesbury for an undisclosed fee. The licensee said she initially offered £400,000, then £550,000, both of which were refused, before asking the pubco what price it wanted. She ended up paying 20% below the pub's market value.

Wood said: "It ended up pretty reasonable, the price wasn't extortionate. I think Punch was very realistic."

She added that the pubco focused on the prices of other pubs for sale in the area.

Wood has run the pub for seven years. She said: "With the business doing so well, the opportunity to acquire the freehold was a chance not to be missed, despite the recession.

"It took a lot of time and a lot of persuading to secure the finance, despite this being an outstandingly successful business but I was determined that this was the right thing to do. I now look forward to developing the business further under my own terms."

The licensee finally secured funding through Barclays. She said the bank was persuaded to lend since Wood had already invested her own money in a refit. She also had six years of accounts and a 20% deposit to show the banks.

HSBC told her it had no appetite for her type of business, and her broker had approached several other banks without success.

"I am shocked that banks have such a blinkered attitude to lending to business people who are clearly successful in what they do," said Wood.