11/1/2018 | Restaurants

Tea room on Northumberland & County Durham border seeks new owner

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has brought to the market White Monk Tea Room, a coffee shop and tea room in the village of Blanchland in Northumberland, on the border of County Durham.

Occupying 'The Old School' owned by The Lord Crewe's Charity, the tea room offers hot drinks, homemade lunches and afternoon tea and can accommodate for 50 covers. The ground floor also includes a full commercial grade catering kitchen and storage areas, with further storage and a preparation kitchen on the first floor.



Rated 4.5 on TripAdvisor with over half of all reviews rating the tea room as ‘Excellent,’ White Monk Tea Room benefits from strong levels of trade year-round from locals in and around the area. Situated within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and just two miles from Derwent Reservoir, the village itself is steeped in history, attracting a number of walkers, cyclists and tourists to the area.

Following 10 years of ownership, current owners, Tony & Vivienne March have decided to sell White Monk Tea Room in order to focus on their other business. They comment, “For four generations, the family has owned and operated a timber supply business and last year, we had the opportunity to purchase another, which we did. Whilst we have thoroughly enjoyed running White Monk Tea Room, selling the business will allow us to focus our attention on the two timber businesses. We bought White Monk Tea Room through Christie & Co 10 years ago and noted that they’ve brokered a number of transactions in the area in recent months.”

David Cash, Senior Business Agent at Christie & Co, is handling the sale and comments, “With research claiming that Brits are now consuming 95 million cups of coffee a day, it is not surprising that businesses such as this continue to trade well.

“We expect interest from first time purchasers looking to escape the ‘rat race’ whilst still bringing in an income, as well as experienced operators looking to purchase a second business. Lots of the businesses Christie & Co sells are bought by local people or those with a love for the location, so I’d be surprised if the buyer turned out not to hail from the North East. That being said, if somebody is looking to relocate, Blanchland offers an idyllic village setting adored by many!”

Christie & Co is seeking £75,000 for the leasehold interest of White Monk Tea Room.