The Sportsman - BREAKING NEWS....

[BensGrandad]

Redesign/decorate. That wouldn't take long or cost too much. Total overhaul of the menu (if Gordon can do it in a day on Kitchen Nightmares........), advertise around Westdene/Withdean, and move it away from being a "family pub." You'd be rolling in money within a couple of months.

It would never make money as a stand alone pub it has to be part of a chain with the ensuing menus like 2 for £10 or buy one get one free to stand any chance of survival. As for Gordon Ramsey, it is not known universally but he was thrown out of the Priory in Haywards Heath because he was wrong on his menu ideas and it has reverted back to being a carvery.

So many pubs with 'upmarket' menus are going broke due to tghe lack of money about polus trhe other trading problems like rent, business rates competition from supermarkets for beer and wine and of course no smoking. It is estinmated that 2000 pubs will close in Britain during the next 4 years, as more and more go bankrupt. Even Yates Wine bars went broke 1 night and re-opened some of them but not all under a new name the next day thus saving Tenchenguis (the owner) £70m. Those that he didnt re-open havent done so in most cases. The rent wanted for the 1 in Chapel Road Worthing is approx £125k per year, or was when I enquired.

When Wetherspoons buy a pub or property to make a pub they allow £1m to redecorate and refurbish and do not expect to recuperate that for 10 years.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

You absolute SPOILSPORT BG. You've just RUINED Badger's brilliant plan.

 

[BensGrandad]

Vacant possession of the pub means that you can go straight in and start trading all staff etc would be laid off or kept on if required. Isnt it owned by Brighton Council and leased to a pub company at the moment. I would assume that they would still require a substantial 'ground rent' and also how much of the car park is allocated to the pub and how much to Withdean Stadium, Park & Ride etc. I would assume for only £750k it is the lease that is up for sale and not the freehold because that is exceptionally cheap fora freehold pub that size.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

If the freehold were available for £750k I'd buy it tomorrow and apply for planning permission to turn it into ten apartments.

 

[BensGrandad]

I'm well aware that pubs aren't doing well on the whole, but my point was more that Westdene and Withdean is a VAST area of Brighton, and yet combined it has just ONE pub. Surely you agree that there is so much potential custom out there that doesn't go in the Sportsman because it's shit?

That may well be true but how many of the residents of the age that would use the pub have vast amounts of disposable income vailable to spend in a pub. You are talking about taking £4 - £5k per day at least to make it at all viable. £30k + per week.
Most will be up to their neck in mortgages etc.

The little back street 'Rovers Return' type pub now needs to take £5 -£6k per week to survive

 

[beorhthelm]

Prepare for the pub to be renamed "The Dutch Marine" by the time you next visit!

that would be BRILLIANT. dont listen to Grandad, he's just bitter.

 

[BensGrandad]

If the freehold were available for £750k I'd buy it tomorrow and apply for planning permission to turn it into ten apartments.

If the council sold the pub and half of the car park for housing how much would that fetch.

Somebody I know offered Inntrepeneur as it was, Enterprise Inns as it is now £1m for The Cricketers in Burgess Hill when we were running it to do just that but build a block of flats on the land but the owners turned it down saying if that was what they wanted they would do the same, as they did with The Royal George.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

If the council sold the pub and half of the car park for housing how much would that fetch.

Somebody I know offered Inntrepeneur as it was, Enterprise Inns as it is now £1m for The Cricketers in Burgess Hill when we were running it to do just that but build a block of flats on the land but the owners turned it down saying if that was what they wanted they would do the same, as they did with The Royal George.

The pub and half the car park, is a seriuosly big plot, in the centre of one of the most desirable areas in the city. A year ago it would have been worth millions. Probably still would be.

My little goldmine would be complete just around the time that the pesky football club and their knuckle dragging fans decamp to Falmer, leaving Withdean to its EXPENSIVE tranquility...

 

[BensGrandad]

You obviously know the figures and I haven't got a clue, but I'd say a lot of the people around here are reasonably well off. Getting them in a pub they're used to not going to is another thing I admit.

Interesting that you say the Sportsman needs to take £30k per week. Is that a REALISTIC target? How close do you think they're getting to that at the moment?

Judging from when I have been in there, on the odd occassion outside of football matches I would say it is probably struggling to hit £15k per week. This could be affected obviously if they are as busy as we are meant to believe during home games. Yes there are very wealthy people living in the area but we are still going to be playing there for 2 years and all of the time that it is associated with BHA the wealthy older residents, who incidentally would only use it if it were considered 'good value' for money' ie cheap pensioners meals etc wouldnt use it at all for fear of losing face.

The big question has to be Why are a Big Pub Company selling the lease or if it is up for renewal why are they not renewing it with the finance etc at their disposal

 

[Hiney]

Board it up and call it The North Stand Chat Arms

 

[Storer68]

Is it not owned by a company and did new managers take over in pre-season.

no, that was BHAFC

 

[dannyboy]

i'll run it
10 yrs experience running pubs in london
and looking to get back into the pub game

 

[BensGrandad]

i'll run it
10 yrs experience running pubs in london
and looking to get back into the pub game

What parts of London?

It is very easy to get back into the pub game if you really want to as there are many company pubs available as a manager. If a pub is 'sitting still' the easiest thing is bring in a new manager with fresh ideas, ususally the turnover will rise.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

The trouble is that while Withdean is a wealthy area, its full of families and old folks, not really your average pub goer. With the albion going in a few years I think the outlook for the pub is pretty poor. They'll probably turn it into a carvery.

 

[csider]

who is it on the market with then to try and solve the freehold question. if its a lease at 750k it about 600k over priced!!

 

[BensGrandad]

If it was such a prospective goldmine do you not think that DK and somebody else on the board would not have considered either buying it for (a) The Albion to run and make extra money or (b) buy it and run it privately for themselves.