Coaching Inn Group reports turnover and profit boost: Coaching Inn Group , which has 431 bedrooms across 15 venues in market towns located in England and Wales, has reported a 39.1% rise in group Ebitda to £2.1 million from turnover up 17.2% to £20 million in the year to 31 March 2018. Turnover is forecast to pass £24 million this year. Drink sales rose by 17% to £5.9 million, food was up 19.2% to £8 million and room sales rose by 17.7% to £5.8 million. Profit before interest was £506,000 (217: loss £146,000). A post year-end debt facility of £16.5m was put in place to secure future growth. Founder Kevin Charity said that it cost between £3 million and £5 million to buy and refurbish pubs. The company has added nine in the past three years, the most recent being the Feathers Hotel, Ledbury, Herefordshire, and the Swan Inn Hotel in Stafford. Charity added: “Coaching Inns has had an excellent year with its strategy of developing the group progressing well and our investments delivering returns. We have plenty to do to maximise the potential in the existing estate and we will continue to seek to acquire further coaching inns that fit our criteria. The pipeline is strong, the company is financially strong and we are in a great place to continue to grow the group further in our new financial year. The current year has begun strongly benefitting from staycations, weather and to some extent from the football too. We are well set to make profitable progress in the year to come.” Coaching Inn Group is backed by the Business Growth Fund.

York Brewery puts city centre pub up for sale, no plans for wider disposal programme: York Brewery has put one of its city centre pubs up for sale but said it has no plans for a wider disposal programme. The company is selling The Yorkshire Terrier in Stonegate, which it opened in late 2004. Jonathan Barker, managing director of Mitchell’s of Lancaster, which owns the brewery, told York Mix: “The Terrier is for sale as we concluded, while it has been a York Brewery pub for many years, we had taken it as far as we could and it no longer fitted our requirements.” The Terrier has a shop on the ground floor with pub rooms behind and upstairs. It was York Brewery’s fourth pub in the city when it opened, following The Last Drop Inn in King’s Square, The Three-Legged Mare in High Petergate and the Rook & Gaskill in Lawrence Street. The last of those was sold several years ago and is now a freehouse. Barker said there were no plans for any wider disposal of York Brewery pubs and the company was currently developing plans for its brewery and pubs for 2019 and beyond. The building that houses the Yorkshire Terrier is believed to date to the early 17th century.

LondonMetric sells Launceton retail park for £21.9m: LondonMetric Property has sold its retail park in Launceston for £21.9 million, reflecting a NIY of 5.6%. The circa 70,000 sq ft retail park was acquired in August 2010 for £13.5 million and formed part of the original Metric portfolio. LondonMetric has executed various asset management initiatives, which have increased the number of units from five to nine and attracted new retailers such as M&S Food Hall, B&M, Iceland, Peacocks, Pets at Home and Costa. Argos is the only original occupier from purchase. The weighted average unexpired lease term is ten years. The property has generated a profit on cost of 13% and an ungeared return of 7% pa, and has been sold above March 2018 book value to a long term investor. Andrew Jones, chief executive of LondonMetric, said: “This disposal is in line with our strategy to reduce our ownership of operational retail assets once business plans have been executed. Following the sale, we will own only four retail parks. Demand for physical retail assets continues to polarise and so future investments will be targeted within the logistics and convenience sectors where income growth prospects are superior.” LondonMetric was advised by Harvey Spack Field and the purchaser was advised by Savills.