Chef Marco Pierre White to sell four gastro pubs for £10million in East Anglia

Four pubs in East Anglia put up for sale – and they could fetch £10million
Chef Marco Pierre White bought them in 2011 in multi-million pound deal
Three months ago it emerged the pubs had gone into administration
The celebrity chef owns a string of restaurants and pubs across the UK

Sam Tonkin For Mailonline

Published:
16:58 GMT, 28 April 2015

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Updated:
18:52 GMT, 28 April 2015

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Four of celebrity chef Marco Pierre White’s gastro pubs have been put up for sale just a few years after he bought them – and they could fetch up to £10million.

It comes three months after it emerged the pubs, in East Anglia, had gone into administration as accounts revealed the TV chef was owed more than £1million.

The Wayford Bridge Inn and the Acle Bridge Inn on the Norfolk Broads and the Chequers Inn and The Lifeboat Inn in Thornham, Norfolk are now on the market – a year after Mr White sold off the Angel hotel in the picturesque Suffolk village of Lavenham.

Marco Pierre White (pictured) owns a string of steakhouse and Italian restaurants and pubs, and was dubbed the first ‘celebrity chef’. Last year he closed his flagship Wheeler’s of St James’s pub in London

Up for sale: The Acle Bridge Inn (pictured) on the Norfolk Broads is among four gastro pubs to be sold off by TV chef Marco Pierre White. An industry insider said the properties could fetch up to £10million

An industry insider has suggested the pubs could raise as much as £10million.

In 2011 Mr White snapped up the properties in a multi-million pound deal and re-launched them under his ‘Marco Pierre White’ brand.

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But after being put up for sale the future of the pubs is now in doubt as dozens of staff wait to hear if any new buyers will keep the businesses going.

The sale is on the instructions of joint administrators dealing with the affairs of the Horatio Inns Limited of which Mr White is listed as a director.

In January, the most recent set of accounts on Companies House revealed that the chef was owed more than £1million. It is not known whether this outstanding balance has since been settled.

Disgruntled staff previously claimed suppliers had been let down and bills left unpaid, while administrators confirmed they had been appointed as a result of the ‘businesses experiencing short term cash flow problems’.

Struggling: It comes three months after it emerged the East Anglian pubs, including the Lifeboat Inn in Norfolk (pictured), had gone into administration as accounts revealed Mr White was owed more than £1million

When he took over in March 2011 the celebrity chef promised to create a unique atmosphere in the pubs, with each establishment offering dishes he had created himself. Pictured is the Wayford Bridge Inn in Norfolk

When he took over in March 2011 the chef – now also famous for his stock-cube TV ads – promised to create a unique atmosphere in the pubs, with each establishment offering dishes he had created himself.

But the Lavenham Angel proved challenging for Mr White – he reportedly alienated locals by banning lager and was said to have barred some regulars because they came in with dogs.

Simon Jackaman of leisure property specialists Fleurets, based in Sudbury, Suffolk, said: ‘These four properties represent some of the best businesses to have come on the market on the Norfolk coast and Broads for some time.’

The Chequers Inn, Thornham, is also up for sale. Simon Jackaman of agents Fleurets, said the properties were ‘some of the best businesses to come on the market on the Norfolk coast and Broads for some time’

THE FOUR GASTRO PUBS BEING PUT UP FOR SALE BY MARCO PIERRE WHITE

Marco Pierre White is said to be worth £25million

The pubs placed on the market by leisure property specialists Fleurets are advertised as follows:

The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham – a superb 16th century historic Inn with 13 en-suite letting bedrooms, 70 cover restaurant, character bar and a breakfast room. The property benefits from stunning views across the Salt Marshes to the North Sea and has a large car park and terraced garden areas. Standing in a site of circa 0.8 acres. Freehold offers invited.

Chequers Inn, Thornham – prominently positioned on the busy A149 coast road, a Grade II Listed mid/late 17th century property with a delightful lounge bar, 70 cover restaurant, 12 en-suite letting bedrooms, separate cottage and a studio. The site with a large car park, terrace and play area is circa 0.6 acres. Freehold offers invited.

Wayford Bridge Inn, Wayford Bridge, Norfolk – a substantially developed dining pub and hotel business with 15 en-suite letting bedrooms, 120 cover restaurant, bar and lounges in extensive landscaped grounds of circa 1.86 acres in the Norfolk Broads National Park. Freehold offers invited.

Bridge Inn, Acle Bridge, Acle – a unique Norfolk Broadland riverside pub and restaurant. 140 covers and 200+ external covers. There are 12 riverside boat moorings and extensive gardens all set in 1.57 acres. Leasehold offers invited.

Mr White, who is rumoured to be worth around £25million, owns a string of steakhouse and Italian restaurants and pubs, and was dubbed the first ‘celebrity chef’.

He has trained top chefs including Gordon Ramsay and was the youngest person to be awarded three Michelin stars.

Last year, the TV chef closed his flagship Wheeler’s of St James’s pub in London.

He also sold the Pear Tree Inn in Whitley, Wiltshire, amid reports that it was boycotted by locals and subject to a mass staff walkout.

MailOnline has contacted Mr White’s representatives for comment.