A HUSBAND and wife team have bought a historic village pub for a seven-figure sum three years after they helped to rescue it from dereliction.

Richard and Loren Pope re-opened the Bull's Head, in High Street, Repton, in 2007 following a £600,000 investment.

Mr Pope invested £200,000 in the venture, with the pub's owner, Burton-based Punch Taverns, providing the remainder.

The couple took on the lease of the 18th-century pub and were so successful that when Punch put the freehold up for sale, they decided to buy it.

The sale of the pub is in line with Punch's aim to scale down its portfolio of public houses.

Last month, the company said it was planning to sell off 1,300 pubs.

Mr and Mrs Pope sealed the deal for the Bull's Head thanks to funding from Lloyds TSB Commercial. The bank provided a lending package that included funding under the government-backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee.

The £1.3bn EFG scheme sees the Government guarantee lending to viable firms with a turnover of up to £25m to ensure they can access working capital and investment funding.

Mr Pope, who worked in the pub industry before taking on the Bull's Head, said: "Running the pub has been a great experience.

''After working in the industry for three decades it is fantastic to finally get the opportunity to run a pub as my own business.

''With Lloyds TSB Commercial's funding and support, we're in a strong position to continue investing in the pub and take the business forward."

Since being built in 1781, the building has been a coaching house, a post office, a butcher's, a wine and spirit merchant, a farm and a seed supplier.

But at one time it looked like the building would be lost forever. It fell into disrepair when it closed as a pub in 2005 because Punch was unable to find a new licensee.

Rainwater leaks damaged the interior, there was an infestation of deathwatch beetles and the pub became a target for vandals.

Mr Pope then gave the pub a new lease of life. When it re-opened he took on 25 staff. It now employs 65 full-time and part-time workers. He is building a large terrace, boosting the number of covers from 80 to 170 during summer months.

Mr Pope has also installed a wood-fired pizza oven.

The oven is only the second of its kind to be built in Britain, with the other furnace owned by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

According to Mr Pope, the new pizza oven has boosted trade, which has led the pub to increase its number of pizza chefs from two to five.

Tim Standley, business development manager for Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: "With Richard and Loren's in-depth knowledge of the industry we knew they would make targeted investments in areas which have a significant impact on trading and turnover and this was reflected in their business plan."