Property Law

On the market

Legendary London pub put up for sale

06-Jul-2016 By Liam Coleman

North London pub, the Old Red Lion, which has attracted stars such as Jude Law and John Hurt in its 600-year history, has been bought to the market on a leasehold basis by Christie & Co.

Property

Pub properties: done deals

30-Jun-2016 By Liam Coleman

This month's property done deals includes pubs in London, Leicestershire and North Yorkshire.

Licensee upset by application refusal

28-Jun-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

A planning application by NewRiver Retail to build a Co-op convenience store behind a Worcestershire pub has been turned down - but the licensee is not happy because he believes it could secure the pub's future.

Property

How should the pub property industry feel about the MRO?

28-Jun-2016 By Paul Tallentyre

Whether you have a free of tie or a tied lease, the impending market rent-only option (MRO) is likely to provide some profound and interesting outcomes for market values. Davis Coffer Lyons’ executive director of pubs and bars, Paul Tallentyre, discusses...

Property

Legal Q&A: How to develop your outdoor space

17-Jun-2016 By Jonathan Smith

The sun is shining, your indoor bar is uncontrollably busy and the pub is full to bursting, so you’ve decided to put some tables and chairs to the front of your pub. Before you press ahead, you might need to have a chat with some authorities first. Jonathan...

Property

What to expect from the lease reassignment process

09-Jun-2016 By Liam Coleman

We've given you some tips on how to prepare for a lease assignment. Hopefully that will give you the confidence for the challenge that awaits. In the second part of this two-part series, it’s time to go through the actual process.

Works Must Pay: Trade bodies boost roadworks compensation campaign

08-Jun-2016 By Oli Gross

Trade bodies have thrown their weight behind the Morning Advertiser’s (MA) campaign calling for compensation for pubs that lose out on trade due to nearby roadworks.

Property

Leases: How to sell on your pub business

02-Jun-2016 By Paul Davey

You’ve been in your current pub for five years and you’d like to realise your assets and take a break before you decide on the next challenge in your career. Trouble is there’s five years left on your lease and no one has told you how to go about assigning...

Works Must Pay: PMA launches roadworks compensation campaign

02-Jun-2016 By Oli Gross

The Morning Advertiser (MA) is launching a campaign calling for compensation to businesses that lose out on trade due to the impact of nearby roadworks.

Carlton Tavern

Decision on illegally demolished pub must "set a deterrent"

31-May-2016 By Oli Gross

A public inquiry into a pub which was demolished illegally has come to a close with campaigners fearing a decision not to enforce the rebuilding of the pub could set a precedent for further demolitions.

Property

Rent reviews: Options for the negotiation process

27-May-2016 By Michelle Perrett

So, crunch time has arrived. A new rent has been proposed by your pubco, and you’re not at all happy with the figure. In the second part of this two-part rent review series, Michelle Perrett looks at your options for the crucial negotiation process.

Advice

Preparing for the rent review fight

19-May-2016 By Michelle Perrett

The term ‘rent review’ can strike fear into the heart of any licensee. Michelle Perrett finds out how to negotiate the best possible deal in the first of this two-part series.

Judge rules ACV protects entire site from conversion

18-May-2016 By Oli Gross

A judge has ruled that asset of community status (ACV) covers the whole of a pub after developers claimed they should be allowed to convert an upstairs function room into flats.

Councils

183-year-old pub faces demolition for cycle path

17-May-2016 By Oli Gross

A pub could face demolition due to a local council’s "unnecessary" plan to build a cycle path.

Property advice

Establishing the value of a pub business

16-May-2016 By Jeremy Over

There are many aspects to consider when trying to establish the value of a business. Here, Jeremy Over gives us his insights.

Pubs in the media

Pubs in the papers: Smoking in Irish pubs, Newcastle PubWatch...and David Cameron's Brexit toilets

16-May-2016 By James Evison

This week's pubs in the papers features Irish smokers, London craft brewers, Newcastle's PubWatch scheme...and David Cameron's Brexit toilets

RICS Pub Benchmarking

Average projected turnover up by 10% for new leases

13-May-2016 By Oli Gross

Projected turnover at pubs with new leases jumped by 10% in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest Pub Benchmarking survey.

Pub closure

Frustrated licensees lose out to law firm in pub sale

04-May-2016 By Oli Gross

Two licensees who believed they had secured the freehold of a closed pub have been left frustrated after it was unexpectedly sold to a law firm.

Property

Is it time to give lease a chance?

22-Apr-2016 By Michelle Perrett

Whether you are thinking of selling or buying a lease, there’s a little more to it than simply agreeing a price and signing on the dotted line, as Michelle Perrett reveals.

Award-winning pub hits out at 'petty' council demands to undo renovations

21-Apr-2016 By Oli Gross

An award-winning pub will ‘almost definitely’ be forced to close if a council pushes through its ‘petty’ demands, costing the licensee £10,000.

#DigiPubs

How to buy pub social media & websites with the property

05-Apr-2016 By Michelle Perrett

When it comes to selling a pub, it is a given that a payment must be made for the fixtures and fittings but Michelle Perrett discovers it is not so clear cut when it comes to websites and social media accounts.

Pubs

Battle to save pub rumoured to be inspiration for Eastenders' Queen Victoria

04-Apr-2016 By Emily Sutherland

An East London licensee battling to buy his pub says he is ‘hopeful’ of success after raising £60,000 in under three weeks.

How to renovate a Grade II-listed pub without hassle

09-Mar-2016 By Ben Winstanley

Grade II-listed pubs offer some of the most scenic destinations to enjoy a pint in the UK but are notoriously difficult to make alterations to when it’s time for an upgrade. Ben Winstanley speaks to conservation specialist Stephen Griffiths to find out...

Why Jason Atherton's sommelier is opening a community-owned pub

08-Mar-2016 By Ben Winstanley

In part two of our look at community-owned pubs, Ben Winstanley gets the lowdown on one such outlet and why the owners have chosen now to hand the lease to former Jason Atherton sommelier, Boris Poliakov

Could community-owned pubs be the saviour of the sector?

29-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

As locals fight to preserve their cherished boozer, community-owned pubs are becoming a small but quietly growing fixture of the UK pub landscape. Ben Winstanley asks whether this model could be the saviour of the sector and how they can work with experienced...

Analysis

What do regional trends tell us about the current pub landscape?

29-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

AlixPartners and CGA Peach have released the third edition of the trade’s Market Growth Monitor, a survey of Britain’s restaurant, pub and bar supply. Ben Winstanley takes a closer look at the monitor’s data and discovers several regional trends affecting...

Want to distil your own spirits? You'll need a licence

22-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

In the second part of an in-depth look at running a pub distillery, Ben Winstanley speaks to excise duties consultant Alan Powell to learn more about what licences you need to get started

A vehicle for success? How to convert an old motor into a bar

22-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

With the need for alternative money-drivers challenging licensees to think outside the box, Ben Winstanley looks at the growing trend for converting vehicles into bars and whether more people should hop on board

How to turn your function room into a distillery

15-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

Overcoming the logistical and bureaucratic nightmare of opening a commercial distillery, the Fat Pig in Exeter has created a unique proposition. Ben Winstanley discovers how more publicans can follow suit and create a new breed of distilling pubs

Analysis

So you want to run a pub in London? Pub property in the capital explained

09-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

London remains the epicentre of the UK hospitality industry but with its constantly evolving property landscape, staying up to date on the current hot spots and considerations is vital before making your move. Ben Winstanley takes a closer look

CAMRA research

Pub closures falling - but still 27 shutting every week

04-Feb-2016 By Oli Gross

Pub closures have slowed slightly to 27 a week as the industry begins a ‘fragile recovery’, according to the Campaign for Real Ale’s latest research.

How to furnish your Victorian pub

02-Feb-2016 By Ben Winstanley

Furnishing your pub to suit your audience while remaining authentic can be a difficult process. With more than 25 years’ experience in the antiques industry, Phil MacGregor and Alan Howard of Pub Furniture UK, offer their advice on Victorian-style pubs

Property

Is it a pub or a post office? The rise of the multi-purpose community hub

27-Jan-2016 By Ben Winstanley

With the number of village shops and post offices dwindling across the country, communities are in danger of losing their local amenities. Is it time that pubs took over the mantle? Ben Winstanley talks to forerunning licensees about their multi-purpose...

Analysis

Are there reasons to be optimistic about pub property?

25-Jan-2016 By Ben Winstanley

With Fleurets’ Survey of Pub Prices and the Christie & Co’s Business Outlook 2016 now published, Ben Winstanley takes a closer look at what the two reports have in common and what this tells us about the year ahead

The truth about property valuations

22-Jan-2016 By Ben Winstanley

Few events in a pub’s lifespan conjure such emotion as when the time comes for current owners to sell up and move on. Ben Winstanley attends a valuation to discover what publicans need to know when selling their pub

Round up: Fleurets survey of pub prices

05-Jan-2016 By Ben Winstanley

From rising freehold sale prices to large-scale corporate group transactions, the Fleurets 2015 survey of pub prices points towards strengthening market conditions in the leisure property sector.

Planning

Co-op agrees pub development guidelines

04-Jan-2016 By MC Allegra FS

The Co-Operative Group has agreed to a set of guidelines when developing convenience stores on pub sites, including a pledge to obtain planning permission rather than relying on permitted development rights.

Property

Free-of-tie leases demand continues

15-Dec-2015 By Stephen Taylor

Stephen Taylor, MD of Guy Simmonds, takes us through his 2016 predictions for the leasehold market.

Property

MRO uncertainty and fears over ACVs dominate market

15-Dec-2015 By Paul Davey

Paul Davey, MD of Davey Co, takes us through his 2016 predictions for the freehold market.

Pub hunt: pubs in London

07-Dec-2015 By Ben Winstanley

Pub hunt this week seeks out pubs across London.

Planning

Flat development battle for BII Licensee of the Year

07-Dec-2015 By Emily Sutherland

BII licensee of the year Keith Marsden has spoken of his growing confidence in the battle to stop developers building 46 flats next to his pub, the Prince of Wales in Moseley.

Pub property predictions for 2016

04-Dec-2015 By Ben Winstanley

It's been a promising year for the leisure property market as confidence continues to return. We ask two agents for their thoughts on 2015 and what the year ahead has in store.

Property

Inheritance: It's time to make sure your pub is in your will

01-Dec-2015 By Paula Myers

Is your pub business important to you, whether you are around or not? Paula Myers, head of Irwin Mitchell’s specialist will, trust and estate disputes team, explains why it should be.

Major redevelopment plans for historic Tolly Cobbold brewery revealed

27-Nov-2015 By Ben Winstanley

Plans for major transformation of the historic Ipswich brewery, Tolly Cobbold, have divided opinion as they await a planning committee in the new year.

"List it or lose it": Liverpool CAMRA's rallying cry to UK pubs

26-Nov-2015 By Ben Winstanley

Liverpool CAMRA has encouraged more campaigners to protect their pubs after successfully attaining Asset of Community Value status for the famed Roscoe Head.

Hot property: why one Sunderland pub sale shows market change in the north east

25-Nov-2015 By Ben Winstanley

Securing a free-of-tie lease on a bar in central Sunderland may appear like little to shout about but Fleurets director and head of agency, Simon Hall, explains what one unit sale tells us about the north east property market. Ben Winstanley reports

Legislation

Pub stripped of ACV status to become Co-op store

24-Nov-2015 By Emily Sutherland

A Surrey pub that was stripped of its asset of community value status in September will be turned in to a Co-op after Woking Borough Council approved an application for change of use.

Pub hunt: family friendly pubs

23-Nov-2015 By Ben Winstanley

Pub hunt this week seeks out family friendly pubs across the UK.

Property

Pub auctions: the pros and cons of going under the hammer

19-Nov-2015 By Ben Winstanley

Auctions are possibly the greatest litmus test of market conditions: when it's bad, you get poor results and undersell at auction, when the market is brilliant, it can be fabulous. Robin Mence, managing director of Sidney Phillips, gives Ben Winstanley...