Run a Star Pub - Black Bull Pickering - Pickering

A planned refurbishment of circa £111,000 is set to transform the Black Bull into a food and drinks-led destination pub, addressing key external and kitchen constraints to unlock the site’s full trading potential.

The Black Bull is located in Pickering, a well-established market town with a strong and consistent tourist trade driven by touring parks and seasonal visitors. The pub benefits from a substantial captive audience, with approximately 300 families within walking distance throughout the season, supported by multiple nearby touring and caravan parks including Upper Carr, Black Bull Touring and Galtres, delivering around 219 touring parties on a seasonal basis. The existing customer base is primarily tourists and seasonal visitors, with the proposed capital investment repositioning the pub to better capture food sales, longer dwell times and higher spend per head.

The Black Bull is available on our investment tenancy agreement.

If you’ve benefited from running or owning a pub business, we’d love to hear what experience you can bring. The right operator for the Black Bull will have extensive experience in food-led hospitality businesses. They will have a clear vision for the food and drinks offer, understand how to maximise tourist and seasonal trade, and be confident in driving evening and destination-led visits through strong standards, service and promotion.

A targeted investment of approximately £111,000 is planned to address the key constraints currently limiting the pub’s performance. The refurbishment will focus on external improvements and a reworked kitchen, creating a more efficient, appealing and commercially viable operation that supports increased food sales and overall turnover.

The proposed works focus on upgrading the pub’s external areas to improve first impressions, visibility and kerb appeal, alongside a redesigned kitchen to better support food production and service. These improvements will enable the pub to capitalise on its strong tourist footfall, improve operational efficiency and deliver a more consistent food offer throughout the trading week. By addressing the external presentation and kitchen layout, the refurbishment opens up opportunities to grow daytime and evening food occasions, increase average spend, and better serve the large seasonal audience within walking distance. The enhanced facilities will require an operator who is confident in delivering a food offer that meets demand from tourists, families and casual diners, while maintaining strong wet-led trade.

This investment is designed to unlock the Black Bull’s full potential by removing operational barriers and strengthening its appeal as a destination pub. The refurbishment is anticipated to drive a meaningful increase in turnover, supported by a projected 31% MAT ROI and a 4.6-year payback period, with a forecast EBIT uplift of approximately £34,000.

• Catering Kitchen
• Investment Tenancy
• Refurbishment Planned
• Outdoor Trade

The pub’s trading area and facilities post refurbishment will be:

• Enhanced external trading areas and kerb appeal
• Improved kitchen facilities to support increased food trade
• Established internal trading spaces supporting wet and food-led occasions

Applicants should be aware that all refurbishments are subject to final board approval which will be determined as part of the leasing process. Where a significant investment is made in a pub by Star Pubs, an “Investment Exemption” will be required. The exemption means that the option of a Market Rent Option lease won’t be available at rent review for a period of up to seven years for this site, as per The Pub Code (2016).

The pub has no private accommodation.

Estimated Total Ingoing Costs £73,734

Estimated Minimum Ingoing Costs £73,734

Annual Rent £52,936

Estimated Annual Turnover £780,549

Deposit £13,234

Estimated Fixtures & Fittings Value £40,000

Estimated Stock Valuation £17,000

Estimated Working Capital £3,500

The above figures are provided as a guide only and will be finalised as part of the commercial agreement. All figures quoted are exclusive of VAT. Estimated Working Capital is an estimate of key start-up costs such as professional fees, training fee, premises license fee, F&F valuation fee & till floats. There will be additional ongoing charges payable during the term of the agreement such as property maintenance, repairs fund, SmartDispense. These costs will be outlined prior to completing a business plan and finalised at Heads of Terms. The calculation of the Estimated Minimum Ingoing Costs assumes a minimum deposit of 1 month's rent and that fixtures and fittings (F&F) are rented. The subsequent deposit build up and F&F rental costs should be included in your financial assumptions in your business plan. Note that on FRI and Investment Tenancy Agreements deposits will always be 3 month's rent in advance and fixtures and fittings (F&F) must always be purchased. A deposit of 6 month's rent will be required for operators trading under a Limited Company with no Guarantors. In order to ensure a successful start-up, all applicants must have a minimum £10,000 un-borrowed funds.