Local buyers for Hall & Woodhouse Dorset inns

Local buyers Ian Knauer and Richard Jones from Gillingham have bought the Drax Arms and the Antelope, which are both Hall & Woodhouse freehouses in Dorset.

The freeholds on both pubs, which had operated under tenancies, were offered individually.

The Drax Arms (pictured below) lies alongside the A350 in the village of Spetisbury, five miles from Blandford Forum.

It has a 40-seat public bar, a 42-seat front patio, a 32-seat side beer garden, and three-bedroom owners' accommodation. The grounds include parking for 22 cars and a private rear yard.

The Antelope in the village of Hazelbury Bryan, two miles from Sturminster Newton, offers a 30-seat main bar, a games room, and four-bedroom owners' accommodation.

Outside facilities include a 54-seat pub garden with a petanque pitch (a form of boules) and children's play area, a 20-bay car park, a skittle alley, and a number of derelict outbuildings with scope for development.

The Winchester office of Christie & Co was seeking offers of £450,000 for each of the two freeholds on behalf of the regional brewer, which has some 200 pubs in the South of England.

By Angela Frewin