Regional Spotlight: Carlisle

With its 12th-century cathedral, its castle, and nearby Hadrian's Wall, there's a lot of history in Carlisle, but in recent times the city has been looking steadfastly to the future.

Carlisle offers operators a good mix of commercial and leisure business. Aside from the local tourist attractions, it is a good jumping-off point for the Lake District and coastal towns such as Whitehaven, and the modern Kingmoor business park is near by.

The Cumbrian city is also blessed with great transport links, being situated close to the M6 motorway and serviced by a growing airport and train links, including the West Coast Main Line.

"Recently there has been a lot of investment in the city from the major employers, and the [licensed] market is reacting to that," says Chris Moore, director at the Manchester office of Colliers Robert Barry. "There's a lot of activity. It's not that difficult to get a foot on the ladder, and there are always gaps in the market when you have an economy like Carlisle's that is growing, with plenty of growth to come."

Andrew Dodd, licensed negotiator at the Manchester office of Christie & Co, advises newcomers to look to the city boundaries or suburbs. "The problem with Carlisle is that the rural properties are very rural," he says.

Another problem is supply. "People are very reluctant to sell up there," says Dodd. "It's quite affluent, and operators are doing extremely well. Carlisle is an up-and-coming city."