Birmingham's Graduate to reopen as African restaurant

West Midlands restaurateur Mohammed Yaqubali has snapped up Birmingham's Graduate pub, which he is leasing to a friend who will convert the property into an African restaurant.

The Graduate, in Great Lister Street, was sold by Calco Midlands, which owns and operates a string of pubs, clubs and hotels across the West Midlands.

Yaqubali, the owner of two Indian restaurants in Birmingham and a halal Chinese restaurant in Leicester, bought the freehold off an asking price of around £225,000.

The two-room pub, which enjoys good food sales, comes complete with three-bedroom private accommodation and enjoys custom from a nearby university and factory units.

Yaqubali is leasing the premises to Alfred Rogal, who comes from a family of restaurateurs in Africa.

Rogal intends to double the seating in the property to 80 and to reopen in April as the Safari Bar and Restaurant, specialising in East African cuisine.

The sale was handled by the Birmingham office of Fleurets.