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Royal & Ancient, Huddersfield

Huddersfield, HD5 0RE

Your investment

£22,875

Agreement Type

Long Term Agreement (5 Year Tenancy)
  • Established food destination
  • Strong, consistent trade performance
  • Spacious outdoor area perfect for families

 

The Royal & Ancient will be repositioned as a leading food-led destination combining quality dining, warm hospitality, and a relaxed pub atmosphere to create a pub customers return to for both everyday visits and special occasions. Building on the pub’s character and strong local setting, the vision is to create a welcoming environment where great food sits at the heart of the experience. The offer will focus on consistently high-quality, freshly prepared dishes alongside a well curated drinks range, delivering excellent value with a premium feel. A key objective will be creating a vibrant yet comfortable social space that appeals throughout the day, from casual lunches and family meals to evening dining and social occasions. Attentive service and a welcoming atmosphere will ensure customers enjoy a memorable experience every time they visit. To drive sales and strengthen rhythm of the week trading, the business will introduce regular reasons to visit, including:

  • Seasonal menus and chef’s specials
  • Midweek dining offers and themed food nights
  • A standout Sunday roast experience
  • Occasional live entertainment to complement the atmosphere

Strong operational standards, combined with a clear focus on food quality, presentation, and customer service, will underpin the offer. This will be supported by targeted local marketing and community engagement to attract both loyal regulars and visitors from the wider Huddersfield area. By delivering a consistent, high quality food and drink experience in a welcoming setting, The Royal & Ancient will establish itself as a thriving and sustainable destination pub at the heart of the local community.

Description

The Royal & Ancient is a historic, food-led pub in Huddersfield’s popular HD5 suburb. This striking Gothic-style stone building, dating back to the 17th century and recognised as Huddersfield’s oldest pub, enjoys strong kerb appeal and prominent signage. Located on Dalton Bank near Colnebridge, around four miles from Huddersfield town centre, the pub sits within a densely populated residential area surrounded by terraced and family housing, schools, local amenities, and retail parks, generating consistent trade throughout the week. The property also benefits from excellent transport links, with easy access to the M62, Huddersfield railway station, and routes to Leeds and Manchester.

Pub Layout

The pub can be accessed via either the grand front entrance with its impressive double frontage or the side entrance. Inside, a long exposed brick bar provides a central servery, creating a striking focal point. The dining space is split into two distinct areas: to the right, a carpeted section with feature wallpaper and upholstered seating offers a softer, more formal setting ideal for families and larger groups; while to the left, wooden flooring, exposed brick walls, and a mix of bench and loose seating create a more relaxed dining atmosphere. The fully equipped commercial kitchen is positioned to the right of the bar servery. Throughout, the pub retains a wealth of traditional character features including exposed beams and real fires, complemented by tasteful décor that blends the building’s historic charm with a modern touch. Externally, a decked seating area with festoon lighting and bench seating provides an inviting outdoor space for customers during the warmer months.

The Royal & Ancient is a well-established food destination pub, known for its freshly prepared food and popular Sunday Lunch offering, which generates strong repeat custom. The business currently operates with an approximate 70/30 wet-to-dry sales split, reflecting the strength of its food trade alongside a solid drinks offering. The pub enjoys a loyal local customer base and benefits from its reputation for quality food and a welcoming atmosphere. There is also clear potential to further grow trade, particularly as the business is currently closed on Mondays. Introducing Monday opening hours could increase both food and drink sales while building on the pub’s already strong trading position.

Annual Rent: £43,500

Security Deposit: £10,875

Working Capital: £6,000

Stock: £6,000

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.

Annual 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.

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 *


Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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