Lakeland cafes in demand

Two high profile cafes in visitor hotspots in the Lake District National Park have been sold by the specialist hotel and licensed property team at real estate advisors Colliers International.

Acting on behalf of owner Mark Stewardson, Colliers sold Potted Out, a café on Stock Lane, Grasmere with indoor seating for 40 people and al fresco seating for another 48, from an asking price of £695,000 to Beth and Paul Abbott, who plan a complete refurbishment of the café and also recently acquired Lake View Country House in Grasmere.

In the second deal, Colliers advised Gary and Donna Macrae, owners of the 62-seat Wild Strawberry cafe over two floors in Main Street, Keswick on its off-market sale for an undisclosed price to Chris and Emma Bray, who moved recently to Ullswater.

Gary and Donna sold the cafe to focus on their award-winning Hazel Bank guest house in Rosthwaite, Borrowdale while in a separate deal, Chris and Emma also acquired Miller Howe cafe in Grasmere prior to closing it for a total refurbishment.

Haydn Spedding, associate director, hotels agency at the Manchester office of Colliers International, secured the hat-trick of deals and said: “The sale of these three prominent and high turnover daytime café businesses, all of which have an excellent record of profitable trading, underlines the continuing importance of the Lake District as a tourist destination and improving market conditions.

“We have a number of disappointed purchasers still seeking quality, high turnover businesses similar to these properties.”