Pub sales continue to boom in Cotswolds hotspot

Following the sale of the Plough Inn in Cold Aston near Cheltenham, Brunt said it demonstrated there was no shortage of potential buyers — both large and small — interested in taking over characterful country pubs in the heart of one of the West Country’s most enduringly popular tourism hotspots.

He said: “We have been seeing an increasing number of inquiries from large breweries to private couples. We were confident the Plough Inn would not be out of circulation given its particular appeal and idyllic location.”

Brunt said the pub ticked all the boxes as an ideal Cotswold watering hole. “With masses of Cotswold stone, exposed timbers and deep bay windows the Plough Inn has bags of character and was bound to appeal to anybody with a yearning to own and operate a traditional Cotswold pub,” he said.

New owner Nick Avery added: “We are planning to enlarge the Plough through a refurbishment programme that will create a beautiful contemporary Cotswold pub. It is an exciting development that the family are fully behind.

“We will be extending the pub to create much more in the way of dining space so that we can offer a dining experience to compete with the best in the area.”

Last month, the Publican’s Morning Advertiser reported Brunt as saying an “unusual” number of properties are being matched by increasing numbers of people looking for business opportunities in the Cotswolds. It also emerg-ed that

Oxfordshire brewer and pub operator Hook Norton has recruited Colliers International to look for acquisitions in and around its Cotswolds heartland.