2/6/2019 | Pubs

Award winning pub comes to the market after 12 years of ownership

The Bell Inn, an attractive 16th century pub in the Kent village of Ivychurch, has been brought to the market through specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co.



The cosy country pub comprises a restaurant, saloon bar, lounge area and snug, which can accommodate a total of 65 covers, with period features including a brick fireplace and wooden beams. Additionally, the property also provides four bedroom owners’ accommodation on the first floor.  

Externally, the Bell Inn features an outside dining space in the form of a spacious, sheltered beer garden for up to 85 covers to the rear of the property, backing onto the village churchyard, which proves very popular with patrons in the summer months.  

Maintaining an exceptional reputation, the Bell Inn has been awarded CAMRA Pub of the Year in the Ashford, Folkestone & Romney Marsh area on four occasions between 2010 and 2016 and prides itself on serving real ales and home cooked food. 

Situated in the heart of the village, the pub attracts a strong mix of local guests and visitors from further afield, hosting a number of themed evenings, music events and its ever popular annual 3-day Beer & Cider Festival.  

Having owned and operated the business for the past 12 years, Mark and Vanda Rolfe are now looking to retire and feel the time is right to hand over the reins to a new operator who can take the well established business to the next level. They comment, “Sadly the time has come for us to call time at The Bell. We have enjoyed 12 fantastic years here making many new friends and forging links with the local community. However we look forward to handing the business over to someone with the same passion and enthusiasm as we have had. A hard decision but retirement calls.”

James Hughes, Senior Business Agent at Christie & Co’s Maidstone office, is handling the sale and comments, “The Bell Inn provides a fabulous opportunity to acquire a profitable, award winning village pub that has been under the same ownership for the past 12 years. It is ideally suited for either a hands-on owner operator looking to capitalise on the already strong trade or alternatively, a multiple operator looking to add a successful pub to their portfolio.”

Christie & Co is seeking £545,000 for the freehold interest of the Bell Inn.