2/13/2019 | Hotels

Pub & hotel in North Yorkshire changes hands to local businessman

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has completed on the sale of the White Rose in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, to a locally based coach hire operator.



The currently closed public house and restaurant comprises a spacious bar area, separate pool room and dining conservatory in the original pub building, with 15 guest bedrooms in a contemporary extension to the rear of the property, which features a separate hotel entrance.

Sitting on half an acre, the White Rose benefits from a large car park on site and a trade garden with picnic tables to the front of the pub. Located close to the centre of the town, the White Rose is highly accessible to locals and visitors from further afield, as it lies adjacent to the A1 motorway just south of the newly built Exelby services. 

Previous owner, Shepherd Cox Hotels Ltd, a national chain of hotels which purchased the White Rose through Christie & Co in 2016, decided to sell the White Rose to a more local and well suited owner. Nick Carlile, Director of Shepherd Cox Hotels Ltd comments, “We purchased the site as part of a package deal however it quickly became evident that it did not fit our business model. As it was closed and in need of investment, we felt that it would be better in the hands of a more local operator, and we therefore decided that a disposal, through Mark Worley at Christie & Co, seemed the logical solution.” 

New owner, Kevin Procter, owns and operates Procters Coaches, a national coach hire company based in Leeming Bar. He comments, “Being local, I was keen to protect the future of the pub, as it is central within the town and hence important to the people and the commerce of the area, so I asked my agent, Richard Stevenson of Thomas:Stevenson to investigate with a view to a purchase. We now have plans to refurbish and reopen the White Rose, creating something the town can be proud of.”

Mark Worley, Director at Christie & Co, handled the sale and comments, “We are delighted to have sold to a buyer who intends to keep the business within the pub and hotel industry and we hope that the people of Leeming Bar and surrounding areas support Kevin in his plans.

“This is yet another example of the demand for North Yorkshire pubs, hotels and coaching inns and follows on from recent Christie & Co sales, including The Bolton Arms at Redmire, The Crown at Roecliffe, The Nags Head at Pickhill and The Hambleton Inn near Thirsk.”  

The White Rose was sold off an asking price of £380,000 for the freehold interest.