‘Substantial offers’ sought for historic Lancashire hospitality village

An ‘olde worlde’-style cluster of hospitality venues, which includes a tavern, restaurant, sports pavilion, function rooms and 65-ensuite letting rooms across cottages and a converted farmhouse beside the Lancaster Canal, is on the market after 44 years under the same ownership.

Guy’s Thatched Hamlet attracts thousands of local visitors and guests throughout the year for the events it hosts, and is also a chosen location for many celebrations put on by the local community.

Built around a 17th century farmhouse beside the canal, the almost 14-acre complex, which includes a cricket ground and bowling green, incorporates a mix of modern and historical buildings under thatched roofs, connected together with decking, flagstone flooring and cobblestones, and incorporating three car parks for 200 vehicles.

The business has been run by the Wilkinson family since 1980 and includes the 200-cover traditional pub, Owd Nell’s Tavern, 175-cover Guy’s Eating Establishment, which serves Italian cuisine, 80-cover Tommy Hatton’s Function Room off the cricket grounds, and The Boddington Pavilion function room next to the bowling green.

Central to the site is a converted school building, with connected lodges, which provides the majority of the letting bedrooms, as well as the Oyster Cottages, which house 12 of the bedrooms.

Guys Thatched Hamlet

There is also a substantial beer patio beside the canal with seating and decking, which is a popular meeting place for locals during the summer months.

In its latest accounts filed at Companies House for the year to July 30, 2023, the business achieved revenues of £5.057m, down from £561.2m the previous year.

It made a pre-tax loss of £249,764, which compares with a pre-tax profit of £171,839 in 2022.

To July 20, 2024, the business produced a net turnover of £4,753,795.

The company blamed bad weather during the 2023 financial year, which affected footfall, the cost-of-living crisis, and rising energy and food costs for the fall in turnover and profits.

The venue is well known for its community events including hosting the weekend-long Oyster Festival hosted with live music and family entertainment every September, as well as regularly hosting the community sporting fixtures and putting on special events during the school holidays from fairs to ice rinks.

The business is being marketed by Colliers, which said it provides lots of opportunity for growth, and already has planning consent for the development of a further 18 letting suites.

The freehold is being sold, subject to ‘substantial offers’.

Julian Troup, Head of Hotels Agency at Colliers, said: “Guys Thatched Hamlet is a really unique hospitality business that has a strong trading history and record with local residents and visitors.

“It’s a stunning location, with lots of amenities within the complex which could be enhanced or developed further.

“There’s significant demand for hospitality businesses in the region and we’re anticipating a strong level of interest in this opportunity.”