G&T Leisure buys Wenlock inn
G&T Leisure has bought the Wenlock Edge Inn at Hilltop in Shropshire.
It is the seventh site to join the portfolio of the Bridgnorth-based company and will be run by chef Paul Ryder and his wife Emma, who achieved two AA rosettes at Stretton Hall in Church Stretton.
The residential inn lies on the busy B4371 tourist route from nearby Iron Bridge Gorge Museums in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
It dates back to around 1700, while the detached double-bedroom house for owners was added in 1991.
Wenlock Edge Inn has a 14-seat main bar with additional stools, a beamed ceiling, a timber bar servery and a stone fireplace; a 16-seat lounge bar with an inglenook and wood-burning stove; a 24-seat dining room; and a 12-seat conservatory.
It also has six potential en-suite bedrooms to sleep 10 (subject to fire planning regulations) although three were allocated to staff under the previous owners.
The inn achieved net sales of £141,161 in the year to 25 March 2007, with rooms contributing just £3,747. By contrast, rooms accounted for £24,478 of the £188,118 annual turnover in 2002.
G&T director Graham Andrews outlined plans to rebuild the function room, and to offer bikes for hire and facilities for riders to tether their horses.
The grounds, which cover 1.7 acres, include a terrace patio to the front, a trade garden to the side, car parking and a fenced paddock.
The Cirencester office of Colliers Robert Barry sold the freehold off a guide price of £550,000.
By Angela Frewin
