One pub, four estate agents and five boards: Signs of hard times

IS this sight of a Derbyshire pub being advertised for sale by FOUR different estate agents a sign of the times?

The Evening Telegraph has reported how the licensed trade is in crisis, with five pubs a day closing their doors.

And it seems there is a problem selling this pub – the Coach and Horses, Los-coe – as a going concern.

Admiral Taverns, which owns the pub, has made it available for let but, at the same time, has asked four different estate agents to try to sell it for £170,000, plus VAT.

Julian Tubbs, regional co-ordinator for the Campaign for Real Ale, said he had never seen as many as five signs on a pub before but that it was common practice for larger pub chains to instruct more than one estate agent.

He said: "I can recall plenty of times when I have seen two or three for sale signs on the outside of a closed pub but this is the first time I have heard of five signs."

Chris Brown, partner at Boxall Brown and Jones and president of the national association of estate agents, said: "My personal view is that asking four agents to market your property is a bit of an overkill but practice like this in the commercial market is not unusual.

"I do think the message it sends out to any potential buyer passing the pub is that the buyer looks desperate to sell and will take any offer, but that is just my personal point of view."

Admiral said it was normal practice to use more than one estate agent to market a property.

Heanor-based Hall and Partners, as well as Green and Co and Paramount, from London, plus Birmingham-based Fleurets, are all trying to sell the pub.

An Admiral Taverns spokesman said it had decided to try and sell the Coach and Horses as it "no longer fits in with its pub portfolio" and each of the estate agents are advertising it as a possible redevelopment into residential use.

But any potential buyer would have to apply for planning permission from Amber Valley Borough Council.

Derbyshire County Councillor Bob Janes, whose Heanor Central constituency covers Loscoe, said he believed the closure of the pub was due to the economic downturn.

He said: "We have had a number of pubs in the Heanor area close recently. I just assumed the Coach and Horses was another one.

"I think it's down to a combination of the current economic situation coupled with other factors such as the smoking ban."

A spokesperson for Admiral Taverns said: "We've decided to sell the Coach and Horses as it no longer fits in with our pub portfolio.

"We've chosen to market the property via multiple estate agents, which is not uncommon."

A spokesman for estate agent Fleurets said: "We were instructed to market the Coach and Horses in October last year. Admiral Taverns often use a number of different agents and the Coach and Horses is another example of this."