Ainscoughs group buys and refurbishes pub from in-administration Waterside Pub Partnership
North-west-based pub, restaurant and hotel group Ainscoughs has added a ninth hospitality business to its estate after it bought and refurbished the Ring O'Bells in Lathom, near Ormskirk in Lancashire.
The Ring O'Bells was one of four pubs in the North-west of England sold by the Manchester office of Colliers International as part of the disposal of the Waterside Pub Partnership portfolio which entered administration in April 2011.
Waterside Pub Partnership was a joint venture between Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company and British Waterways, which operated canal and riverside pubs, but entered administration after failing to secure further financing.
The pub - which sits on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal - was acquired for an undisclosed sum by Bispham Green Brewery, part of west Lancashire-based Ainscoughs Group.
Ainscoughs' eight other hotels, pubs and restaurants in the North-west include the Eagle & Child at Bispham Green, Parbold, Lancashire, where the brewery is based, the Strickland Arms at Sizergh, near Kendal, the Wizard at Nether Alderley, Cheshire and the Derby Arms at Witherslack in the Lake District.
Martin Ainscough, managing director of Ainscoughs Group, said: "We are delighted to have acquired the Ring O' Bells and look forward to developing a strong family-orientated business at the property which will continue to develop over the coming months."
Ian Walsh, surveyor, licensed and leisure at the Manchester office of Colliers International, acted as selling agent for the Ring O' Bells. He said: "It's always pleasing to complete the sale of any pub for continued licensed use, particularly to a good-quality operator such as Ainscoughs. As I am originally from the area, I have no doubt that Martin and his team will restore the Ring O'Bells to its former glories and it will once again become a very popular establishment in west Lancashire."
By Neil Gerrard
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