Melbourn's Pink Geranium to become Indian restaurant

The restaurant â€" which targets middle- to top-end clients spending an average £75 per head â€" has been popular since it opened in 1962.

Fans have included Prince Charles and veteran food critic Egon Ronay, who described it as “one of Britain’s prettiest restaurants”.

The Grade II-listed thatched building, converted from two 16th century cottages, is in the village of Melbourn, 10 miles south of Cambridge.

It can seat 70 customers on the ground floor and offers a variety of private dining options on the beamed first floor.

Freeholder Chris Charlton of Manex Property Holdings bought the restaurant from Saunders in May 2006 and reopened it six months later after a £200,000 revamp. His son Ben of Venture Inn, who operated the Pink Geranium,now takes over the running of the adjacent Sheen Mill hotel and restaurant.

The Ipswich office of Christie + Co sold a brand new, 25-lease to Cambridge restaurateurs M J Akhtar and P Khan. It was seeking offers in the region of £100,000, with annual rent starting at £65,000.

By Angela Frewin