Faucet buys renowned pub

Faucet Inn, the London and south-east multiple headed by Steve Cox, has acquired the freehold of the renowned Sir Richard Steele pub in London's Belsize Park for an undisclosed sum off an asking price of £3.75m.

The corner pub, on Haverstock Hill, which is named after the co-founder of The Spectator magazine, had been privately owned for the past 20 years.

The Sir Richard Steele is a substantial three-storey late Victorian property, which features a ground-floor bar area and kitchen, a first-floor function room with bar, a three-bedroom manager's flat on the second floor and a trade garden.

James Grimes, of licensed leisure advisors AG&G, which handled the sale, said: "The pub is in one of north London's most fashionable residential districts and has earned a reputation as being one of the area's finest character pubs. It's a worthy addition to Faucet Inn's stable."

Faucet Inn operates an estate of more than 20 pubs in London and the south-east, including sites in Southampton and Kent.