Fine pub specialist buys Jackson’s Wharf

Peel Group has sold the unused Jackson's Wharf pub building in Castlefield, Manchester to upmarket pub operator Brunning & Price for an undisclosed sum.

Chester-based Brunning & Price, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Restaurant Group, will renovate the site and bring the pub back into use as the Wharf. The new landlord is on an expansion trail to add to its 24 pubs, all of which are listed in the Good Pub Guide. Among them are Old Hall in Sandbach, Pant-yr-Ochain in Wreexham, and Sutton Hall in Macclesfield.

Graham Price, managing director of Brunning & Price, said: "The Jackson's Wharf building presents significant challenges, but we have tackled a number of similar projects in the past, including warehouses on the canal-side in Chester and on the riverside in Shrewsbury."

Brunning & Price had turnover of £23m and profit of £2m in 2010.

The Manchester office of law firm Cobbetts LLP advised Brunning & Price on the deal. Peel was advised by its in-house legal team.

David Frankland, real estate partner at Cobbetts LLP, commented: "The Jackson's Wharf site presented a unique opportunity for Brunning & Price; it is a well known building, located in a tremendously popular area of the city."

Building work is expected to start soon, and the Wharf is expected to open by early summer 2012.