JD Wetherspoon buys-in Newcastle freehold for £5.6m: JD Wetherspoon has bought-in the freehold of a pub it tenants in Newcastle. K/S Westgate, represented by Savills and its Denmark-based associate Nybolig Erhverv København, has sold The Union Rooms on Westgate Road in Newcastle upon Tyne to JD Wetherspoon for £5.6m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.75%. The five-storey property is let in its entirety to JD Wetherspoon until 2034. It benefits from a high footfall location opposite Central Station and within close proximity to a strong night time leisure circuit. Nick Lyell, associate director of licensed leisure at Savills, said: “This acquisition forms part of JD Wetherspoon’s ongoing strategy to purchase the freehold of assets which are trading well in order to maximise profits. The new student accommodation developed on an adjacent site is likely to boost trade even further and we are pleased with the strong sale price achieved.” JD Wetherspoon was represented by CBRE Specialist Markets.

Brakspear buys Cotswold coaching inn home to Marco Pierre White restaurant for £1.3m: Pub operator and brewer Brakspear has added to its portfolio by acquiring the Frogmill Inn & Restaurant near Cheltenham for in excess of the £1.3m guide price. The company, which has an estate of £145 pubs, has bought the 23-bedroom coaching inn, which formed part of the West Register portfolio, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) restructuring group. Agents Christie + Co and Singer Vielle were instructed to sell the property with Wheelers of St James trading from the site as tenants. The Marco Pierre White company has been trading at the site, which was on the market for two weeks, since 2012. The sale follows similar transactions earlier in the year by Christie + Co on behalf of RBS, which included the Carnarvon Arms, Highclere, Horse & Groom, Charlton and the Black Boy, Banbury as the bank looks to clear its asset register before closing the restructuring part of the bank by the end of 2015. Anthony Jenkins of Christie + Co’s corporate team said: “The grade II-listed property attracted a wide range of interest from investors, local and national operators and overseas buyers who were keen to compete for the opportunity to acquire an established investment business in a prime location at the gate of the Cotswolds. We were pleased to attract multiple bids in such a short period of time for such a quintessentially English coaching inn.”