Celebrity chef to sell remaining restaurant
HIGH profile Lancashire chef and restaurateur Paul Heathcote is selling his remaining restaurant as he switches focus to his contract catering business.
Christie & Co’s Manchester office has been appointed to sell The Olive Press and Heathcote’s Brasserie on Winkley Square, Preston.
The Olive Press was opened in Preston in 1995 by Heathcote. Renowned for its high-end cuisine, The Italian restaurant has won various awards including two rosettes, Independent Restaurant of the Year and BIB Gourmand Star.
Heathcote told TheBusinessDesk.com: “I have been doing this for 25 years and it’s time to try something new. This is not a decision I’ve taken lightly or quickly. Late last year we had an approach that didn’t happen and I was fairly disappointed. I realised that it was probably the right time to sell.
“We also have the opportunity for a couple of other contracts in our contract catering business. There is a long pipeline for these things and they won’t start til later in the year, or early next.”
Heathcote, 55, believes interest will be strong in the restaurant: “Preston is doing well with the City Deal and the redevelopment. I think it’s well placed to be the third big city after Manchester and Liverpool in the much-talked-about Northern Powerhouse.”
The restaurant occupies the ground and lower ground floor of a four-storey mid-terrace Victorian building overlooking Winckley Square, and provides seating for 200 customers.
The Brasserie, occupies the same site and serves guests a bespoke menu.
Tom O’ Malley of Christie & Co is handling the sale. He said: “This establishment represents good value for money in the current market. As this is a restaurant with 20 years of trading history in a growing city and a reputation known nationally we are expecting a lot of interest from both existing operators who want to raise their profile in the North West and from first-time buyers who are looking to enter the market.”
Christie & Co is seeking £250,000 for the leasehold interest in the restaurant.
At one time Heathcote had a small chain of restaurants under the Simply Heathcotes, Grado and Olive Press brands.
In 2010 he closed two Olive Press sites in Liverpool and Leeds amid the recession. That year he also sold a number of others to Living Ventures. In 2012 he sold former flagship in Longridge near Preston, which he ran for 22 years and where he earned two Michelin Stars.
Heathcote & Co is the official caterer and hospitality partner of Bolton Wanderers FC and the Bolton Whites Hotel.
