The Horse Joins The Walrus Stable
July 3, 2013
The Horse public house on Westminster Bridge Road has been sold by Davis Coffer Lyons, the leisure specialist, to the owners of the nearby Walrus Bar & Hostel, who plan to convert the substantial upper floors into further hostel space.
The Horse and Stables, as it will be fittingly renamed to reference the overnight accommodation, will also have an American-British bar and restaurant with a hybrid food menu, and will benefit from a 3am licence on Friday and Saturday and a function room for up to 100 people on the first floor. The operating company Walrus Inns Ltd is headed up by Steve Chapman.
With backpacking becoming an increasingly popular way to travel since the introduction of cheap air-travel, it is now believed that up to 10% of visitors to the UK are backpackers and hostels are now one of the capitals most popular forms of accommodation, especially for younger travellers and those on a budget.
Chris Bickle, Associate Director, said: More and more people are turning to backpacking as a way to see the world. Hotels in London are sometimes expensive and hostels offer an affordable alternative often within easy reach of major attractions but in the kinds of areas that travellers can associate with. Numerous pubs in central London are converting the upstairs space to serve this growing demand and competition for custom is fierce. As a result, when a pub with numerous rooms comes to the market it will often generate a fair bit of interest.
The three year rolling lease from Trust Inns Ltd was sold with a passing rent of £42,500 per annum and an asking price of £125,000.
