The Fountain Inn is an extremely impressive and deceptively spacious Grade II listed, high-turnover, food-led public house, which is presented to a high standard throughout. The Fountain Inn is a well-established, popular and extremely well-regarded town-centre public house and restaurant which provides a superior trading environment and is fitted with high-quality fixtures, fittings and trade inventory. The property boasts spacious, family-sized, three-bedroom owner’s accommodation and also has its own car park, which provides an additional lucrative income. The business briefly comprises: Main Bar & Dining Areas (34+), First Floor Restaurant (36+), First Floor Lounge/Function Room/Additional Restaurant (26+), a fully fitted Commercial Catering Kitchen with backup facilities, spacious and superior Owner’s Accommodation with three double bedrooms, a spacious Lounge, Dining Room, Kitchen and a Bathroom. Externally, the property benefits from a customer car park for around 18 vehicles, which also operates as a pay-and-display and generates a lucrative income. There is also a Customer Seating Terrace (8+). The Fountain Inn is undoubtedly a very special place to live and work, and a viewing is strongly recommended in order to fully appreciate the quality and high standards inherent throughout all aspects of this profitable, high-turnover business.
INTERNAL DETAILS
Customer entrance doors to the front lead into the Main Bar & Dining Area, an extremely attractive and well-presented character trading area with stripped wooden flooring, part-exposed stone and part wood-panelled walls, a feature fireplace (disused), feature lighting, and a range of freestanding wooden tables, chairs, sofas, window and banquette seating for 24+ customers. A timber-fronted and topped Bar Servery with tiled flooring, fitted with a range of back bar fittings and display shelving with two double glass-fronted bottle fridges, an EPOS cash register with a printer link to the kitchen, a commercial coffee machine, a coffee grinder, and a stainless-steel sink unit. The Dining Room is another character room with stripped wooden flooring, exposed ceiling timbers, a feature fireplace (disused), feature lighting, and freestanding wooden tables, chairs and comfortable seating for 10 customers. The Commercial Catering Kitchen has part non-slip and part tiled flooring, tiled walls, and is equipped with a comprehensive range of commercial catering equipment to include: an extractor system with a stainless-steel canopy over, a six-burner gas range, a chargrill, an eye-level grill, a combi oven, two twin table-top deep fat fryers, stainless-steel workbenches with shelving below, two commercial microwave ovens, a three-door commercial counter fridge unit, an under-counter fridge, a deep-bowl stainless-steel sink, stainless-steel racked shelving, stainless-steel shelving, a commercial dishwasher, two commercial upright fridges, a warming cabinet, warming lamps, worksurfaces with an inset stainless-steel sink, a stainless-steel wall cabinet, and a door to the rear. The Beer Cellar is temperature-controlled on the ground floor with a glass-fronted upright fridge, a glasswasher, shelving and a door to the rear. Dry Goods Store with racked shelving units. Utility Area with a washing machine and tumble dryer. Covered Store Area with three chest freezers. Rear Service Yard Area. The First Floor Restaurant is another well-presented character room with carpeted flooring, a feature fireplace (disused), feature lighting, and freestanding wooden tables, chairs and banquette seating for 36+ customers. Ladies and Gents WCs. The Lounge/Function Room/Additional Restaurant is a versatile, character, multipurpose room used for meetings and private parties with carpeted flooring, part-exposed stone walls, feature lighting, and freestanding wooden tables, chairs, sofas and armchairs comfortably seating 26+ customers. Customer Terrace on the first floor with alfresco seating for 8+ customers.
OWNER’S ACCOMMODATION
Situated on the second floor is the impressive and spacious, family-sized Owner’s Accommodation, which provides superior living accommodation and briefly comprises: a Lounge with dual aspect to the front; Bedroom 1, a good-sized double room with aspect to the front and a sink; a Bathroom with a white suite and a shower over the bath; Bedroom 2, a small double room with aspect to the side; Bedroom 3, a small double room with aspect to the side; a Dining Room with aspect to the side; and a Kitchen with base and wall-mounted kitchen cupboards, a sink unit and aspect to the rear.
CAR PARK
The pub has its own 18-space car park on the opposite side of the road. The current owner has introduced pay-and-display parking (customers excluded), and the car park is popular with visitors to Wells, given its proximity to the cathedral and city centre. This produces a lucrative income stream.
THE BUSINESS
The Fountain is a stylish and welcoming, food-led pub, which is popular, well-established and extremely well-presented. After 12 successful years, the current owner is looking to retire, and the business provides an exceptional trading environment equipped with high-quality fixtures, fittings and trade inventory. The business is renowned for its quality, homemade, fresh food, offering both pub classics and fine dining dishes on the menu. With strong annual sales, The Fountain is supported by a loyal customer base, as well as visitors and tourists travelling to the area. The business hosts meetings and private parties/functions, with tremendous opportunity to build on this trade. There is also a lucrative income generated by the car park, from visitors to the city centre. The business has a 5-star food hygiene rating and has a website which provides further background information. The business has also received numerous favourable reviews on Google and Tripadvisor and has been awarded a Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award. The sale of The Fountain represents an excellent opportunity to purchase an exceptionally well-presented and well-regarded, high-turnover, town-centre pub and restaurant in a highly desirable area with impressive living accommodation and excellent levels of trade and profits. An internal inspection is essential in order to fully appreciate all that this exceptional and superior business opportunity has to offer.
OPENING HOURS
The current owner has deliberately restricted the opening hours to just 24 trading hours per week, in order to suit her lifestyle requirements. The opening hours are 5:30 pm until 10 pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; midday until 3:00 pm and 5:30 pm until 10 pm on Saturday; and midday until 3 pm on Sunday. The business is closed on Monday and Wednesday.
TRADING INFORMATION
Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2025 show sales of £410,875 excluding VAT, with a gross profit of 68.8%. We are advised that the approximate split of trade is 70% food and 30% wet sales. Further financial information for this profitable business is available to interested parties after a formal viewing appointment.
POTENTIAL
The Fountain is an extremely well-regarded and popular destination pub and restaurant which still offers further potential for incoming operators to develop all aspects of the trade and to develop a trading style to suit their own personal requirements. Undoubtedly, there are opportunities to increase the current trading hours and to build upon the solid levels of trade and reputation which are already established.
