Press Releases
Christie Finance funds the leasehold sale of a historic Cambridgeshire village inn
A brand new lease on the picturesque 14th Century Mermaid Inn in the village of Ellington, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, has been sold on behalf of the freeholder, Merchant Inns, to Gary Barton, an experienced hotel manager from St Ives, as his first pub purchase.
The sale was handled by the Ipswich office of leading licensed property agents, Christie + Co, with the purchase financed through their associate company, independent mortgage broker, Christie Finance.
The Mermaid Inn is a traditional, Grade II Listed village inn situated beside the church in the High Street of Ellington. The village lies three miles from Grafham Water and six miles from Huntington, just off junction 20 of the A14 and within three miles of the A1.
The detached, two-storey property briefly comprises a character lounge bar and 26-cover restaurant, two-bedroom owner's accommodation, two letting bedrooms within a separate detached unit, a beer garden and car park. Planning permission has been granted to extend the property to increase the restaurant capacity.
Nicholas Baker, mortgage broker for Christie Finance, comments: "This is a first time pub purchase for the new lessee, Gary Barton, who is realizing an ambition to own a licensed property. He has a wide experience of the licensed and hospitality industry, having most recently been operations manager at the Thistle Hotel in Swindon and before that food and beverage manager at Taplow House Hotel.
I am sure that Gary's expertise and enthusiasm will be put to excellent use as the new owner of the Mermaid Inn. Christie Finance was delighted to act on Gary's behalf in negotiating a finance deal for this leasehold purchase and wish him every success with his new business venture."
Merchant Inns will retain the freehold investment in the Mermaid Inn; a new 12-year lease has been sold for an undisclosed figure after Christie + Co sought an asking price of £45,000 as a premium and annual rent commencing at £25,000.
Merchant Inns is reported to be in advanced talks with private equity firms to secure backing for expansion plans which will increase its portfolio from five to 75 food-led pubs and hotels across England.
For further information please contact Nicholas Baker in the Ipswich office of Christie Finance on 01473 234905 or nicholas.baker@christiefinance.com
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