Pub purchased for £1m gets £650k makeover (From Bucks Free Press)

Pub purchased for £1m gets £650k makeover

7:00am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in News

THE new owners of the Britannia Pub have revealed they are ploughing £650,000 into a revamp after buying the building for over £1million.

The Free Press reported last month that the future of the public house in Little Marlow Road was secure after McMullen and Sons bought the property.

There were doubts about what would become of the popular drinking venue after it was put up for sale earlier this year.

It was listed by property agents as being of interest to housing operators and retailers, just as the Plough, further along the same road, shut down and is now set to be demolished for flats.

McMullen and Sons Managing Director Peter Furness-Smith said that a major refurbishment, costing £650k, will take place at the Britannia and revealed it had spent more than a seven figure sum purchasing it.

He hopes the pub will be open in mid-November.

Asked if the company believed it can survive as a pub in difficult times for the industry, he said: "We are finding that pubs in good locations that are well invested with a warm and interesting design and consistently serve good quality food, beer and wines by well trained friendly staff are doing very well.

"The Britannia is in a good location and we plan to bring the rest to the pub.

"We believe that there is an opportunity for a really good pub in Marlow."

He said: "Our builders tell us that they have had a number of local enquiries and the feedback is very positive.

"Nearby residents appear to be pleased that the Britannia will reopen as a pub restaurant and are relieved that the site is not being pulled down for housing."

He added there will be "an unrecognisably big difference" to the pub's interior design and layout.