Black & Grey Morpeth
Morpeth, NE61 1BU
Agreement Type:
Long Term Agreement (5 Year Tenancy)
Community Local
Your investment:
£12,000
- £257,000 refurbishment completed in January 2026
- Fantastic high street location
- Separate function space
Beer Garden
Cask Ale
Function Room
Kitchen
Food Preparation Area
Live Music
Sports Teams
The Black & Grey offers an exciting opportunity to take on a well-established community pub in one of Northumberland’s most popular market towns. Samantha Banks, Business Development Manager is looking for an experienced licensee looking to build on an already successful business. This is a business that rewards initiative and fresh ideas with success coming from understanding the local market, embracing modern pub retailing and creating reasons for customers to return time and again. The Black & Grey would particularly suit an experienced hospitality professional or chef looking to operate their own pub restaurant without the financial commitment of purchasing a venue.
We’re looking for someone who:
Description
The Black and Grey is a striking pub occupying a prominent corner position on the edge of the historic Northumberland market town of Morpeth. Situated at the top of the high street, the pub benefits from excellent visibility, strong passing traffic, and consistent footfall from both locals and visitors. This attractive pub sits on the doorstep of one of Northumberland’s most desirable market towns, benefiting from a strong local community, affluent residential catchment, and a steady flow of visitors. With the town centre just a short stroll away and excellent connections to the A1, Newcastle, and Edinburgh, the pub is perfectly placed to attract both loyal locals and passing trade, offering an exciting opportunity for a licensee with the vision and drive to make the most of its prime location.
Pub Layout
The Black & Grey benefited from a full internal and external refurbishment in January 2026 and is presented in excellent condition throughout. The pub operates from a single trading room, with a spacious open-plan layout that creates a welcoming and versatile environment. A blend of tiled and wooden flooring, panelled walls, feature wallpaper and bright décor gives the pub a distinctive and eclectic feel while retaining its traditional charm. A mix of low-level bench seating, loose tables and chairs, high stools and poseur tables provides comfortable seating for approximately 40-50 covers. The pub also features a dedicated darts area and wall-mounted TVs for sports viewing, making it a popular destination for all social occasions. Carefully chosen artwork, pictures and soft furnishings add character and complete what is a unique and inviting trading space. A fully equipped commercial catering kitchen is located on the first floor, complete with a separate preparation area and doubles up as the domestic facility. In addition, there is a separate Coach House function room, offering further opportunities for private events, community gatherings and special occasions. To the rear of the pub is a charming beer garden known as ‘The Yard’. This hard-landscaped courtyard features tables, flower walls and decorative fairy lights, creating a relaxed outdoor space that is particularly popular during the warmer months. While there is no on-site parking, two large free public car parks are located just a short walk away, providing convenient access for customers.
The Black & Grey operates as a premium venue and has built a strong reputation within the local area. The pub benefits from a proven and successful food offer, with popular Sunday lunches and tapas-style dishes currently accounting for around 20% of total sales. Bottomless brunches are a particular highlight and perform exceptionally well, especially when hosted in the separate Coach House, which provides an excellent space for private functions and events. The business also features a popular target darts area, helping to drive regular footfall and customer engagement. Alongside its successful food trade, the pub enjoys a strong drinks business, supported by its reputation as a vibrant weekend destination. This combination of quality food, premium drinks and a lively atmosphere continues to attract customers from across the area and provides a fantastic platform for a new licensee to build upon.
The private accommodation consists of two bedrooms, bathroom, living room and office all in excellent condition.
Weekly Rent: £576.92
Estimated Annual Turnover*: £473,808
Security Deposit: £5,000 (with build up to £7,125)
Working Capital: £2,000
Stock: £5,000
Fixtures and Fittings: Funding options may be available for the right licensee.
Tie: All drinks categories are tied. For fully funded licensees on long term agreements, we offer free-of-tie options for certain drinks categories in exchange for an annual fee.
For a breakdown on financial information, please refer to the ‘Additional Info’ tab.
Weekly Rent – This is our lowest rent figure associated with a Full Tie. If the tie is reduced the effective rent (via Tie Release Fees) will increase. Rent is billed and paid for weekly in advance depending on the payment terms agreed). On occasion, our Business Development Manager will discuss a start up rent which is discretionary to an individual pub and can be discussed.
Estimated Annual Turnover*: The forecasted annual turnover is the assessed Fair Maintainable Turnover by a Reasonably Efficient Operator and is shown as net of VAT and excludes machine income.
Security Deposit – A security deposit is required when applying for a pub with Admiral. This will be the greater of £5,000 or three months’ headline rent. The deposit is held on your account and returned when you leave, subject to your final account balance and the condition of the property. We will also carry out a credit check as part of your application, which may affect the deposit amount required.
Working Capital – This is a recommend amount required which will be used in the day-to-day running of the business.
Stock – This will be valued by an independent valuer on the day you take over the pub. This includes unbranded glassware, unopened bottles, wines, spirits, any unopened / opened kegs and cask ale providing the container is unopened.
Fixtures & Fittings – This includes any item that is bolted to the floor or walls, and a fitting to be any item that is free standing or hung by a nail or hook. This will also include furniture.
Tie: All drinks categories are tied. For fully funded licensees on long term agreements, we offer free-of-tie options for certain drinks categories in exchange for an annual fee.
Training – £350.00 – Before signing a long term agreement, you will be required to attend our 7 Steps to Sales Success training programme. Held online over two days, you will learn marketing and business strategies that will help you to grow sales in your pub – step-by-step.
Service Charge Cost – £65.86 per week – The Admiral Taverns Premium Maintenance Package will help take care of your compliance and statutory obligations with one simple fee, whilst giving you piece of mind about your boiler and cellar cooling repair and replacement. This also includes full access to e-learning for you and your staff.
Zero Business Rates* – Based on the draft rating list for April 2026, the Nil Rates Payable is based on small business rates relief being applied for by the licensee and the licensee only occupying one property for commercial purposes. Please note, this only applies to pubs marked with an Asterix *
We believe we do things differently to other pub companies. To us its quite simple – great pubs are run by great people, so we focus on ensuring we can empower you to run a successful pub business. Every licensee is different, and no two pubs are the same, so we carefully tailor the range of agreements, support and training packages we offer to give you all you need to run your own pub.
The first step is to call our recruitment team and have a chat with us. We’ll probably suggest you attend one of our recruitment events as nothing beats a face to face chat. It’s also a good idea to research the sort of pub you are interested in ahead of time, so you have a clear picture of the competition in the area and what the local community looks for in that pub.
In order to run a pub, you will need a personal license which regulates the sale of alcohol in a pub. This can be achieved through attending a one-day course, ending in a multiple-choice exam. Once you’ve passed the exam, you then need to apply to your local council, for your personal licence. Admiral can easily help you with this by offering a discounted rate. Finally, you will also need to complete PEAT training (Pre Entry Awareness Training), an online course which explains the leased and tenanted pub agreement you are about to take on.
Our default agreement is our 5 Year Tenancy Agreement with a range of support available to you throughout your agreement with Admiral. We also offer induction training, our 7 Steps to Sales Success course is a 2 day online course that will provide you with the knowledge to run a pub and get you off to a great start before you get started. In addition to this, we offer other training workshops on a wide range of topics such as Marketing, Social Media, Cellar Training along with online training including Food Hygiene, Health & Safety and lots of other related courses. There is simply training available for every subject. When you take on a pub with us, your Business Development Manager will discuss your training requirements with you and identify areas where you may benefit from additional support or training.
Rents are based on open market value, Fair Maintainable Trade (FMT) and the future trading potential of the premises. This entails an assessment of the turnover and profitability that a reasonably efficient operator would be expected to achieve, taking into account the optimum trading style for the premises and making reasonable allowances for costs. This will involve estimating the trading potential rather than just adopting the actual level of trade under the existing ownership. This method of valuation is known as “the Profits Method”.
We want to empower our licensees to get on with the day to day running of the pub, as well as giving you the knowledge that you can count on us for as much (or as little) support as you need. Our team are truly passionate about community pubs and we want to do as much as we can to help you run sustainable and profitable businesses. Our support includes but isn’t limited to the following: Commercial & Marketing Support, Food Team, Licensing, Property Help Desk, Investments, Machines and Training.
Our BDMs work hard to build strong working relationships with their licensees. Your BDM is there to help you develop your pub and can support you in many different ways. From guidance around products and pricing, planning events, marketing your pub and development and training, our BDMs are empowered to make quick decisions which will help you move forward with your business.
We are continually investing in our pubs. From transformational refurbishments to small improvements where it really counts, we run an active investment programme and are committed to improving our estate of pubs. We also are fully invested in working alongside our licensees during the investment process to bring their ideas to fruition.
Admiral operates under the tenanted and leased model whereby we as the pub company own the pub and agree to rent the premises to you via a lease or tenancy agreement. Most tenancies/leases include a negotiated supply agreement covering the purchase of all drinks categories and possibly a range of other goods and services (hence the phrase ‘tied’ pubs). The level of rent you agree to pay at your pub will be dependent upon the extent of your purchasing obligations. Our rent offers are based on a Full Tie, and hence reflects the lowest rent payable. For licensees on long term agreements, we offer free-of-tie options for certain drinks categories in exchange for an annual fee. The prices you pay for drinks purchased from Admiral are likely to be different to those on the open market. When you take on the pub your BDM will discuss rent and the tie with you.
To enter into any tenancy agreement with Admiral, you will normally have to consider the following costs:
Personal Licence fee – This is the fee for obtaining your Personal Licence which you will require if you intend to be the Designated Premises Supervisor named on the premises licence.
Fixtures and Fittings (e.g. furniture, kitchen equipment, light
fittings, carpets etc) – These are usually valued on the day you enter the property. Whilst we prefer you to purchase the fixtures and fittings outright, there are occasions where we can provide alternative methods of purchase or may consider a rental agreement. Your BDM will discuss these options with you.
Deposit – The size of the deposit (or security bond) varies depending on the property and the commercial terms agreed but is normally the greater of a quarter’s rent or £5,000 and will be held for the duration of your agreement. In exceptional circumstances, we may allow you to pay a lower deposit and build this up over a time period.
Stock and glassware – These are purchased when you take over your pub, at an agreed valuation, from either the outgoing tenant or Admiral.
Working capital – The amount of working capital required (cash available) varies by pub, as each individual business requires different levels of funding. Your BDM will discuss this with you.
Pre Entry Awareness Training (PEAT) – This is mandatory training designed to raise awareness on the matters involved in operating a pub, from agreements, repairs and purchasing obligations. The cost of this course is £100 plus VAT.
Yes absolutely. We are always keen to encourage successful licensees to develop. Our BDMs work together with our licensees to achieve this and identify new opportunities. We also run training workshops to help you to gain the right skills, so you can take the step from running just one business to expanding with a second pub.
Admiral Taverns accept payment by Direct Debit or Open Banking (Pay by Link) only. Our Business Development Managers will discuss which method is most appropriate for you during the application process.
