Whitbread to sell four pubs

Whitbread has instructed Christie + Co and Gerald Eve to jointly market four pubs.

The package of pubs includes one freehold, the Nevill Crest & Gun in Kent, and three long leaseholds, the Down Grange in Hampshire, the Greaves Park in Lancashire, and the Worsley Old Hall in Greater Manchester.

The Nevill Crest & Gun near Tunbridge Wells currently trades as a Brewers Fayre. The Grade II-listed property, which is believed to date back some 500 years, features a

main bar with two seating areas, an 84-cover restaurant, a 90-cover beer garden, and a circa 45-space car park.

The Down Grange near Basingstoke, which also currently trades as a Brewers Fayre, features a total of 180 covers for dining, a 22-cover bar, a 40-cover external drinking area, and a circa 106-space car park.

The Georgian-style property, which dates back to the early 1800s, is held on a 125-year

lease from October 1985, with a current rent per annum of £34,000.

Greaves Park, currently a Table Table venue, features a total of 170 covers spread across five different sections and a number of private dining areas. It is held on a 999-year lease from February 1996, with a peppercorn rent.

The Worsley Old Hall in Worsley, near Manchester, also operates as a Brewers Fayre. The site is held on a 121-year lease from October 1998, with a current rent per annum of £81,026.

Offers are being invited for the package as a group or individually. Simon Hobbs, head of asset management at Whitbread, said: "It is not our intention to run standalone pub restaurants in the future as our long-term strategy is to only operate pub restaurants with a hotel alongside where we can capture the benefits of both our Premier Inn and pub restaurant brands."