Buying a country pub

Steve always wanted to own a pub

Steve Baybut, a 52-year-old former teacher, runs a traditional pub in a small town in the Cotswolds.

It’s an old-fashioned boozer in a central market square, and attracts mainly locals as well as the odd tourist.

Having relocated from Southampton, it hasn’t been plain sailing. Steve has had trouble selling his old house, and has even had to take it off the market for a while.

So what made him swap teaching for the life of a publican?

Lifelong dream

“It was something I wanted to do for a long time, ever since my student days when I worked as a barman.

“I got to the age when I thought that if I didn’t do it now, I never would,” explains Steve.

“When I thought about giving up teaching, I only wanted to run a pub – so I just went for it.”

He freely admits that the reality has failed to match up with his romantic vision of what the pub would be like: “I am beginning to think it was a mistake.

The whole process took a lot longer than I thought it would – about nine months

Steve Baybut, rural pub buyer

“For one thing, when you do something for 30 years it becomes a part of you – I do miss teaching.

“And two, financially – the pub is not doing so well.”

However, despite a l slow start, Steve is confident he can turn things around.

Steve started looking for a pub to buy early in 2005. He came across a few pubs for sale on BusinessesForSale.com and eventually found his new home through a broker advert on the site.

“I probably didn’t do enough research,” admits Steve. “I looked at various websites, and visited two pubs before I decided on this one.

“I also sought advice from the estate agents and my solicitor. The estate agents were definitely the most helpful,” he adds.

“I found them to be particularly useful when I was negotiating on price. They were very neutral and fair.

“The owner also helped ensure I was paying the right price.”

“The whole process took a lot longer than I thought it would – about nine months. It certainly surprised me and I would say this was my main problem with the whole buying process.

“It only took me two or three months to find the business. But, from putting in the offer at the end of March, it was six months before I finally moved in.

“Now I wish I had looked more carefully before making my final choice. As I said, I’m not doing all that well.

“Running the pub is a lot harder than I first thought – there is more to it than just bar work.”

He concludes: “If I could go through the process again I would definitely take more time over the selection process, and I would also speak to a variety of pub companies instead of going with the first one that came along.”

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