A clutch of pub sales across the South West has seen sector experts at Colliers International defy gloomy national forecasts to celebrate their busiest month since 2008.
Bristol-based Hotels director Peter Brunt said contrary to various industry indicators, pubs in the West were actually finding a very ready market.
He said: “Although it’s clear the industry nationally is struggling to compete with changing drinking habits, people are prepared to take a closer look at individual premises in the hope of picking up the best buys while they are still available.
“We have been saying all year that the right pub in the right place at the right price will still sell and it seems would-be landlords are making their moves now – while there are still some bargains to be had.”
In the space of just two frantic weeks Peter Brunt has exchanged contracts on the Gaggle of Geese in Dorset, the Bell Inn at Stow-on-the-Wold, the Lampet Arms at Tadmarton and the Chequers at Churchill.
The first three properties were available at asking prices up to £350,000.
Peter Brunt commented: “Pubs at this sort of price are readily saleable because they appeal to cash purchasers.
“Pub prices are now little different to where they were at the same stage in the last recession meaning that they offer exceptional value for money and obvious potential for capital growth in the future.”
The hotels team’s frantic fortnight coincides with particularly grim forecasts from national insolvency experts R3, who claim more than a third of pubs and bars in the South West risk going out of business over the next 12 months due to changing drinking habits change and competition from supermarkets.
