WHERE TO LOOK

Tenancy, lease and freehold pubs are advertised in a variety of places. Knowing where to look greatly improves your chances of finding the right pub for you. You will need to make time to search these different sources and to visit pubs that match your requirements. This can be a time-consuming activity. The main places to look for suitable pubs are:

• Brewery and pub company websites – (tenancy and lease).
• Pub valuer and business transfer agents websites – (freehold and lease assignments).
• The Publican and Morning Advertiser licensed trade newspapers – (freehold, lease and lease assignments).
• Daltons Weekly, a magazine containing businesses for sale – (freehold and lease assignments).

A list of useful websites, including major UK tenanted and leased pub operators and business transfer agents, is given in the Appendix.

Many other useful websites can also be found via an internet search. Entering phrases such as ‘pub company’, ‘pub leases’ or ‘pubs for sale’ into the Google search engine will provide good results. To a lesser extent, pubs are also advertised in local newspapers and via ‘to let’ and ‘for sale’ boards that are sometimes displayed on the outside of pubs.

Brewery and pub companies

Once you have established which geographical areas you are willing to consider for the location of your pub, it is worth targeting breweries and pub companies that have pubs in these areas. This can be a little difficult as many pubs ‘branded’ as a particular brewery may now in fact be owned by someone else! The majority of pubs in the UK are owned by a small number of pub companies and breweries. The major pub company and brewery websites give details of the areas in which they have pubs. Many have interactive maps to search for vacancies in a particular region.

If you wish to be considered by a brewery or pub company, you will need to register with them and complete an application form. Once registered, they will send you details of their tenancy and lease vacancies on an ongoing basis. See Chapter 7, Applying for a Tenancy or New Lease.

Pub valuer and business transfer agents

These companies operate in a similar way to estate agents. Individuals place their pubs for sale or lease through them and are charged a fee for this service. Some companies specialise in the licensed trade and others offer a broad range of businesses for sale. They generally have detailed websites listing the pubs they have for sale and they often advertise extensively in trade and business newspapers. You can subscribe to their mailing lists in order to receive details of newly advertised pubs. Any initial contact about a particular pub should be made through them. They will then arrange meetings and viewings. Remember that such companies are acting on behalf of the seller and their aim is to find a buyer for the pub that has been placed with them.

The Publican and Morning Advertiser newspapers

The Publican and Morning Advertiser are two well-respected newspapers for the licensed trade. They are published weekly and have a comprehensive section which displays pubs for sale and lease. Many pub valuers and business transfer agents advertise their pubs in them, and they are also excellent sources of information on all aspects of the licensed trade. Subscribing to each of them is recommended.

Dalton’s Weekly

Dalton’s Weekly is a newspaper that advertises a whole range of items, services and businesses for sale. It is often used by pub valuers and business transfer agents to promote the pubs they have on offer. Many individuals wishing to sell their lease or freehold use Dalton’s to advertise their pubs too. It is useful for comparing prices and for obtaining website addresses and telephone numbers of agents and valuers to contact.