Ainscoughs add to pub portfolio

Upmarket hotel and restaurant group Ainscoughs has reopened the Ring O' Bells in Lathom, near Ormskirk, west Lancashire after buying the premises out of administration.

The pub was sold by property advisor Colliers International after previous owner the Waterside Pub Partnership entered administration. Waterside Pub Partnership was a joint venture between Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company and British Waterways which operated canal and riverside pubs, but entered administration after failing to secure further financing.

The Ring O'Bells sits on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and was acquired through Ainscoughs' subsidiary Bispham Green Brewery.

Ainscoughs, run by brother and sister Martin and Helen, owns eight hotels, pubs and restaurants in the North West including the Racquet Club in Liverpool, Eagle & Child at Bispham Green, Parbold, where the brewery is based, the Strickland Arms at Sizergh, near Kendal, The Wizard at Nether Alderley, Cheshire and the Derby Arms at Witherslack in the Lake District.

Martin Ainscough said: "We look forward to developing a strong family orientated business at the property which will continue to develop over the coming months."

Ian Walsh, licensed leisure surveyor at Colliers International, said: "It's always pleasing to complete the sale of any pub for continued licensed use, particularly to a good quality operator such as Ainscoughs.

"As I am originally from the area, I have no doubt that Martin and his team will restore the Ring O'Bells to its former glories and it will once again become a very popular establishment in West Lancashire."