Charles Wells sells 11 pubs

Charles Wells has sold 11 pubs with a further four under offer of the batch of 24 it put up for sale.

The rural and urban pubs range in price from £100,000 to £600,000. Of the 11 sold, nine were closed, four of which have been bought for alternative use. The pubs are not considered "appropriate" for Charles Wells' evolving strategy.

"This has been a challenging instruction for us given the difficult economic conditions but there has been good interest in the 24 pubs," said Chris Ford of Gerald Eve, instructed to sell the pubs.

"Prices have softened since last year, but we have recently detected a renewed interest in the sector from cash rich investors looking for a once in a generation opportunity to acquire property at such good value.

"Some of the more gloomy press stories have highlighted a fall in the number of pubs. The good news here is that seven of the buyers have committed to renewed futures for the premises as successful pubs. However we are not complacent and are working hard to sell the remaining properties."

Charles Wells has recently bought 31 pubs, including two chunks from Punch.