The Marylebone Bar was sold to food retailers Santi & Santi for a sum in excess of £625,000. UCL, which spent £125,000 on the initial acquisition and refurbishment of the venue in 2008, generated ‘record profit’ from the sale.
“UCL are concentrating on other aspects of the business, such as the roll out of The Lazy Cow” a spokesperson for UCL told BigHospitality. “UCL decided to sell The Marylebone Bar because it was an amazing offer that they could not refuse and they’d taken the pub as far as it could go.”
Ross Sanders, who runs UCL, added: “We are absolutely delighted with the sale of The Marylebone Bar, especially in the current climate and hospitality sector. The venue and trading has been a very profitable operation for us and we felt both the sale price and timing for the sale was appropriate.”
The Lazy Cow
Earlier this year, UCL revealed it was scrapping plans to continue to invest in country pubs, and will instead pump its funds into expanding its successful Lazy Cow boutique hotel and restaurant brand. Several more Lazy Cow hotels are planned for the coming year.
The Marylebone Bar, located in Marylebone High Street, has been generating profit after rent of around £250,000 per annum. Santi & Santi will be keeping the pub as it is and no further refurbishment or rebranding will take place, BigHospitality understands.