Local buyers for Test Valley restaurant

Experienced Hampshire operators Sharon Cole and Eric Lisle are the new owners of the Blue Hayes restaurant in the Hampshire village of Shootash.

The restaurant occupies a three-quarter-of-an-acre site in the Test Valley on the A27, three miles from Romsey and 12 miles from Salisbury.

Believed to date back to around 1900, the thatched stone property retains a number of period features such as an inglenook fireplace, exposed ceiling beams and leaded light windows.

It accommodates a reception hall, a 30-seat front restaurant with bar, a 30-seat rear restaurant, and two-bedroom owners accommodation. Outside there is ample car parking space and gardens.

The Winchester office of Christie + Co sold the leasehold (which runs to 2025) off a guide price of £180,000 on behalf of Mike and Jan Driscoll. The current annual rent is set at £24,000.

By Angela Frewin