Press Releases
The Red Cow freehouse in Chrishall, Essex, changes hands
The Red Cow, a charming and ancient thatched freehouse in the village of Chrishall in Essex, close to the Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire borders, has been sold through the Ipswich office of leading licensed property agents, Christie + Co, with funding arranged through sister company, Christie Finance.
After owning the freehold for approximately 15 years, proprietors Barry and Monica Custins are moving on to pastures new. This is a first time pub purchase for the new owners, Chris and Alice Cozens, who are relocating from Oxfordshire. The pub will provide them with a complete lifestyle change; Chris previously worked for a digital music provider and Alice for a telecommunications company.
The Red Cow is a Grade II Listed, picture postcard inn of great antiquity, believed to date back to Norman times, with a thatched roof, low beamed ceilings and cosy fireplaces. It is the only public house in Chrishall, which lies seven miles equidistant from the market towns of Saffron Walden in Essex and Royston in Hertfordshire, within five miles of the M11.
The property briefly comprises two bars, a 20-cover restaurant, two-bedroom owner's accommodation, a barn with development potential, an outbuilding which previously housed the village post office, a beer garden and car park.
Bill Colquhoun, director of Christie + Co's Ipswich office, comments: "The sale of the Red Cow confirms the continued high demand for privately owned freehouses throughout the region. Private buyers are competing with corporate operators for the limited supply of freehouses available for sale."
Andrew Elley of Christie Finance comments: "I was delighted to assist Chris and Alice Cozens with arranging a mortgage for the purchase of their first public house. As the business was closed at the time of the sale, our challenge was to obtain a loan from a high street lender, which was duly forthcoming. Chris and Alice plan to reopen the Red Cow in a few weeks' time when it has been decorated and newly furnished. They are also reinstating the pond – which had been filled in – as there is a colony of great newts within 500m of the pub. We wish Chris and Alice every success with their new business venture."
Christie + Co sought offers in the region of £475,000 for the freehold interest in the Red Cow, which was sold for an undisclosed figure.
For further information, please contact Bill Colquhoun in the Ipswich office of Christie + Co on Tel: 01473 256588 or Andrew Elley on 01622 656014
Our Ref: Ips716
