Sales of pubs listed as assets of community value (ACV) are still very much unproven. It appears that fear of the unknown is one of the major factors in play for prospective purchases — whether it is fear over the level of community interest in the ongoing operation of the pub or fear of the impact that the ACV status will have on the resale value, should things not work out down the line. This fear is clearly putting off a number of potential buyers of pubs and in some cases it has, or has very nearly, resulted in the loss of the pub to the community.
Below is a summary of the four cases last year that Fleurets dealt with where we lost or almost lost a valid purchaser for continued pub use.
In 2014, we sold a Suffolk pub. The community group triggered the six-month moratorium period even though we had two interested parties who wanted to buy it to run it as a pub. As a result, we lost both of the potential buyers because they were not prepared to wait and had concerns over the potential for resale in years to come. The community group failed to submit a bid and, as a result, the six-month period expired and it was sold for use as an antiques centre and for part residential use.
On another property, in Sussex, we lost a respectable funded buyer because he felt it was blighted and withdrew from the deal. The community group never looked like it would be able to make an offer, yet the sale was delayed by six months anyway. It still sold for pub use in the end.
In Oxfordshire, a pub did not sell to the person interested from the outset, despite them wanting continued pub use. The ACV status put off other interested parties looking to purchase for a range of community uses including a religious centre, the main concern being resale values. The eventual purchasers were planning to run the property as a pub with retail element. The local community de-cided not to bid.
In Derbyshire, villagers applied for ACV status to prevent a pub being used as anything else. The purchaser had always intended to use it as a pub but was almost put off because of the prospect of a group of community activists wanting to get involved and influence his operation of the business.
In cases where there is a clear, higher alternative use value, the ACV listing is little more than an irritant and delaying factor in the sale process, as any community offer can be rejected without reason. In these cases, existing planning legislation would have much more of an influence on future use. As a result, one might conclude that the planning system is better placed to control the future use of pubs. In fact, it has, for many years, been an effective means of preventing the loss of ‘the last pub in a village’ situation and often achieved the same goal without the need for additional legislation.