Well established Victorian ale house for sale - Hilton Smythe
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Well established Victorian ale house for sale

Ludlow, Shropshire

  • Asking Price: £287,000 +SAV
  • Turnover: We are advised as per the 2019 account, the business generated a turnover in the region of £100,000, with an adjusted net profit in the region of £20,000. Full financials can be made available upon further request. 

    Please quote reference B06253

  • Tenure: Freehold

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Please quote reference B06253

Hilton Smythe are delighted to welcome to the market a fantastic opportunity to purchase on a freehold basis The Blood Bay, a relatively recently restored building and much-loved real ale house in the heart of the tourist market town of Ludlow.

Named in honour of the Mayor of Ludlow’s horse, which won the 1932 Grand National, The Blood Bay is a remarkable recreation of the type of Victorian ale house that would have populated the town in the 1800s.

Since the conversion by our client in 2017, The Blood Bay has quickly garnered awards and media attention: CAMRA Good Beer Guide for two consecutive years, Beer Accredited in 2018, as well as being extensively featured in international media. Most note-worthy being American Airlines and BBC Radio 4’s Kitchen Cabinet.

‘We walked through the door, into a cramped room, with wood floors, filled with people, all around an old wooden bar. Everything, down to the wallpaper had been refurbished to look exactly as it would in the 1800s. Even with an old Victorian dining room upstairs. Is this a pub? I love it.’ (American Airlines)

The Blood Bay also features in the forthcoming novel, The Gifts, which is set in 1840, by award-winning author Liz Hyder. The book will be published in hardback, audio and eBook in February 2022 by Manilla Press.

This is an opportunity to acquire a business that has an excellent reputation within the area, with a huge amount of word of mouth recommendations and a regular client base. Only now is the business offered to the market as our client is looking to focus more on his publishing ventures.

When the business initially opened the beer tap menu hosted historic beer recipes, from 1840 to 1900, brewed by the owner. Guest beers have also proved popular, demonstrating the true flexibility and growth in the number of beer lines and choice with both traditional cask and craft cask and keg. The business also stocks a range of spirits and wines.

Google reviews highlight ‘Superb beer, banter and atmosphere’, ‘Excellent and tasteful renovation of an original building’, ‘What an absolute pleasure in every possible way’ and ‘Just one of those places you go into and immediately feel relaxed and at home’.

Our client is available to assist with a handover to ensure the long-term success of The Blood Bay, and yet another year in Good Beer Guide.

Reasons to buy;

  • Excellent reputation, far and wide (with handover period offered)
  • Very little competition in the area
  • Huge potential to increase income through longer opening and a mix of dry and wet sales
  • Regular, repeat customers
  • Potential to rent 1st floor as living accommodation
Original operating hours were limited, due to other business commitments, with plenty of scope to increase the turnover by opening longer hours (currently licensed 12noon to 10pm), pushing advertising (which has been limited to word of mouth and media interest) and introducing a food element, accommodation, and live events .

This is a unique opportunity to acquire a period property together with a business that has genuine growth opportunities. Early discussions with Hilton Smythe are essential to avoid disappointment.

The business is owner operated and managed. 

The business hours are -

Monday – 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Tuesday – 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Wednesday – 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Thursday – 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Friday– 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Saturday– 12:00pm – 9:00pm
Sunday– 12:00pm – 9:00pm


The Blood Bay is located in the thriving medieval market town of Ludlow, conveniently positioned in the heart of High Street, next door to the highly-photographed Walls Butchers, within an 8 minute walk from Ludlow Railway Station and 5 minutes from the nearest bus stop.

There is a wide variety of complimentary shops and businesses on High Street, ensuring a good level of footfall and passing trade. Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire that is renowned for its vibrant community feel which provides the basis of an excellent, traditional public house such as The Blood Bay.

The five-storey building retains its original late-Victorian landscape, painstakingly revealed, with the addition of same-period mahogany bar fixtures, glazed panel work, and cut-glass and brass fittings mainly sourced from North London pubs. The upper floors reveal a much earlier Georgian time with full-height wainscotting, whilst at the foundation lives a two-roomed medieval cellar, with separate vaults.

There are three definite drinking spaces on the ground floor, emanating around the large, curved mahogany bar – the back bar being served by its own hatch, with a mix of fixed wooden pews and benches. A number of tables provide ample opportunity for food, which The Blood Bay does not currently offer, however plans were afoot with a kitchen and adjacent dining room existing, in part, on the second floor.

Our client advised with planning permission there is potential to incorporate this floor into the top floor, to create a highly desirable domestic living space, or truly exploit Ludlow’s gourmet credentials in addition to the highly lucrative holiday let trade, which could (planning permitting) generate another valuable income stream. Enquiries relating to potential planning consents should be directed to the local planning office.

Tenure
We are advised that the property is being sold on a Freehold basis.

Please note, the property is held within a limited company. Purchasers who purchase the shares in the limited company are therefore likely to benefit from a much reduced rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax.

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