The new owners of a popular gastropub near Bath are planning to boost its outdoor facilities to take advantage of the shift to al fresco eating and drinking as they prepare to reopen it next month.
The leasehold of the 18th century Wheelwrights Arms in Monkton Combe, pictured, has been bought by Richard and Sandra Bauly off a guide price of £225,000.
The couple, newcomers to the hospitality industry who moved to the UK from Canada, plan to add to the significant investment made by the previous owners, who put the AA four-star rated inn on the market with global real estate advisor Colliers last autumn.
As well as a 45-cover restaurant, seven letting bedrooms and a recently created three-bedroom letting flat, the Wheelwrights Arms also boasts outside space for nearly 200 people.
Richard Bauly spent his career in high-tech communications and managing teams, while Sandra worked as an interior designer. Both also have experience in customer service.
Richard, who lived in Buckinghamshire until he was seven before moving to Canada, said: “The Wheelwrights Arms is a charming traditional village pub in an idyllic setting, yet close to the sophistication of Bath and with an excellent reputation as a gastropub.
“We want to build upon this successful formula, while also enhancing some of the pub’s unique features. In particular, we are planning to create an attractive al fresco dining experience in the superb gardens, with an outdoor pizza oven, barbeque facilities and more covered areas that will enable people to eat outside in comfort even if the weather is a bit cold and damp.”
He said the couple would also invest in the letting bedrooms, where Sandra would use her interior design skills.
“While we haven’t worked previously in hospitality, I believe that excellent customer service is something which applies across all industries,” Richard added.
“Hospitality is in my DNA as my mother, who was born in Weston-super-Mare, used to work in hotels and ran a bed & breakfast. I also have cousins with deep experience pubs in Oxfordshire.”
The Baulys moved to the UK a couple of years ago as both their sons were at university in Bristol. Having unsuccessfully looked in Somerset for a guesthouse and pub during lockdown, they were about to give up when they came across the Wheelwrights Arms.
“It really is everything we could have hoped for – an attractive traditional pub in a magical location and with a strong team of staff including an excellent head chef who previously worked at a Michelin restaurant,” said Richard. “We are delighted to be the new leaseholders and to be taking the business forward.”
Colliers hotels agency team director Peter Brunt described the Wheelwrights Arms as the quintessential English village pub but with the added attraction of a large garden that brought a range of further opportunities given the significant increase in demand for al fresco drinking and dining due to the pandemic.
“The strength of demand among buyers in the South West region for well-located hospitality businesses is very much evident, and already this year I have 10 hospitality business that have sold or which are sold subject to contract,” he added.
The previous owners had run the Wheelwrights Arms for around 18 months, having bought it while their daughter attended the nearby independent boarding and day school Monkton Combe.
