Royal Oak, Colchester
East End, East Bergholt, CO7 6XA
Agreement Type:
Long Term Agreement (5 Year Tenancy)
Community Local
Your investment:
£11,500
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Zero business rate*
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Established cask ale trade
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Strong local demographics
Zero business rate*
Established cask ale trade
Strong local demographics
Beer Garden
Car Park
Cask Ale
Kitchen
Live Music
Open Fire
Sports Teams
The ideal licensee will be a confident, engaging and natural host who can create a welcoming atmosphere and bring the pub to life. They will have the enthusiasm and creativity to develop a varied programme of events and activities, attracting customers from the nearby holiday resort, surrounding villages and hamlets. There is also an opportunity to introduce a simple, rustic back-bar food offer that complements the pub’s traditional character. Above all, the successful licensee will be passionate about delivering excellent customer service, building a loyal following and establishing the pub as a popular destination within the local community.
The Royal Oak, locally known as Dickies, is a traditional village pub situated in East End, just outside East Bergholt, within the picturesque Constable Country and close to the Suffolk and Essex border. The pub serves the surrounding rural community. East Bergholt is a desirable and well-established village, offering a range of local amenities and a strong community atmosphere. The pub is well positioned for access to Colchester, Ipswich and the surrounding villages, with convenient road links via the A12. Manningtree railway station is also nearby, providing services towards London Liverpool Street, Colchester and Ipswich. The area is home to several established country pubs, including the Red Lion, Carriers Arms and Hare and Hounds, reflecting the popularity of the local hospitality scene. The Royal Oak offers an opportunity for a hands-on licensee to build on its traditional character and strengthen its position within the local community.
Pub Layout
Upon entering The Royal Oak, customers are welcomed into a traditional and inviting main bar area, with the bar positioned to the right and a large open fireplace to the left, creating a warm and characterful atmosphere. To the left of the main bar is a separate trading area, offering flexibility for a games room or additional seating for approximately 14 customers, with customer toilets conveniently located off this space. Beyond the main bar, a further trading area provides seating for approximately 20 customers, offering additional space for dining, drinks or community gatherings. The pub’s versatile layout provides an excellent opportunity for a licensee to develop both wet-led and food-led trade. Externally, The Royal Oak benefits from a small rear patio area with a covered smoking shelter, leading through to a private car park with space for approximately eight vehicles. Beyond the car park is a spacious rear beer garden, offering excellent potential for outdoor seating, summer events and community activities during the warmer months.
The pub is a traditional rural local with a strong and loyal customer base, attracting local blue-collar workers and cask ale enthusiasts from the surrounding villages and hamlets. With a well-established reputation for quality real ales, the pub benefits from a strong wet-led trade and remains a popular meeting place within the local community. Although the pub currently operates without a traditional food offer, visiting food vendors have proved popular, including a regular pizza chef every Friday. There is an excellent opportunity for a new licensee to develop this further, introducing simple, traditional pub favourites such as Scotch eggs and sausage rolls to complement the drinks offer and encourage customers to stay longer. The outgoing licensee has successfully established a varied programme of events and activities, which have been well supported by customers. This provides a strong foundation for an incoming licensee to build upon, developing the food and entertainment offer whilst maintaining the pub’s traditional character and strong community connections.
The private accommodation is accessed from within the pub. There are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a lounge all in good condition throughout. The kitchen for the tenant is in the ground floor of the property. The private accommodation is being scoped for a redecoration ahead of a new tenant taking the property over.
Weekly Rent: £341.35
Estimated Annual Turnover*: £218,996
Security Deposit: £5,000
Working Capital: £2,500
Stock: £4,000
Fixtures and Fittings: To be confirmed upon valuation – funding options may be available for the right licensee.
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 *
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.
The property is in good order, but we are expecting to so some works such as external repairs and decorations. This would be worked on with our new licensee and would be subject to internal approvals.
The refurbishment is subject to full Board approval. All designs are draft and indicative only, intended to showcase the potential of the pub. The refurbishment will be refined and personalised once a long-term licensee is secured, incorporating their vision for the look and feel of the business.
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.
