Specialist commercial property adviser, Christie & Co, has reported a 133% increase in hospitality businesses on the market from the same time last year, showing that the Yorkshire coastline, a formerly depressed area, is on the up.
The north eastern coastline has seen an incredible amount of investment in the past 12-24 months. Bridlington has received a £25m leisure centre and plans have recently been lodged for an £8m Premier Inn, the first new hotel in the region for almost 80 years. Scarborough is also due to receive a £1.7bn Potash mine which will create 1000 jobs, a £14m water park, a multiplex cinema and a £45m sports village and football stadium complex. This level of investment will aid in continuing to fuel the tourist economy, with Scarborough seeing the highest number of holiday trips and holiday spend in the UK outside of London according to Visit England.
The commercial property market has mirrored this increase in activity following double digit percentage growth in the average sale price of pubs, restaurants and hotels in Yorkshire and across the rest of the UK last year.
Several Yorkshire coastal businesses have come onto the market in recent months. These include two B&B guest houses-cum-restaurants, both located in Robin Hoods Bay. The Wayfarer has a 30 cover bistro, five letting rooms and sea views; The Bramblewick has a restaurant/cafe along with four letting rooms and is located a few metres away from the sea.
In Whitby, the Wheeledale has 13 ensuite letting rooms, whilst the Stonehouse Emporium, a short walk from the seafront, includes an antiques shop, a cafe/bar creperie and two self-catering apartments. There is also a development project available in the form of Green Gables Hotel, a historic building currently with 20 apartments, 24 ensuite rooms and an indoor swimming pool.
In Bridlington, the London Hotel near the new leisure centre encompasses 15 ensuite sea-facing rooms with owners’ accommodation.
Runswick Bay most recently saw the changing hands of the 20-bed Cliffemount Hotel, located on the cliff tops, which Christie & Co sold earlier this year.
Oliver Brown, Business Agent at Christie & Co’s Leeds office, comments, “The continued investment in Yorkshire’s coastal towns, and increasing strength of the region’s tourist industry, makes the region a highly desirable place to own a business. Industrial, leisure and infrastructure development is experiencing a flurry of activity, suggesting many long term benefits of a commercial presence in this area.
“We have been approached by an increasing number of people over the past year who have never owned a business before but are looking for a lifestyle change. The Yorkshire coast appears to tick all the boxes as a location and its vast range of hospitality businesses on offer make it a huge attraction for individuals, couples and families wishing to relocate and run their own operation.”
