22 fleurets.com A multi layered market Pubs Transactions in the pub market have always been dictated by the availability of finance, but the effect on deals has never been so diverse, especially in the north. There is no shortage of buyers with plenty of cash or talented operators, however there are precious few who have both. The combined effect is that there are several types of property that are in strong demand and others where demand is limited. Understanding the precise pockets of demand is critical to assigning value. High demand exists for top end sites suitable for managed operation, city centre sites, bottom end freeholds, leisure investments and nil premium free of tie leaseholds. There is less demand for mid-sized owner-operated businesses, which, despite being very profitable, solid operations, available at exceptional value, have fewer buyers because of the amount of cash down payment needed. With deposit, fees, SDLT, stock and working capital this is often 50% of the purchase price. The overall volume of transactions has remained steady across the north. Large managed pubs Simon Hall Director - Agency