Three Bottles, Halstead
Leathers Lane, Halstead, CO9 4HY
Your investment
£12,000
Agreement Type
Long Term Agreement (5 Year Tenancy)
- Zero business rates*
- Beautiful village location
- Traditional feel environment
Beer Garden
Car Park
Cask Ale
Kitchen
Live Music
Open Fire
Sports Teams
The Three Bottles represents a hidden gem within a well-supported village, benefitting from a strong A-road location and significant untapped potential. An experienced individual or couple leading from the front would be ideally placed to elevate the pub into one of the best in the area, building a reputation for traditional, high-quality hospitality delivered with consistency and care. By strengthening the core drinks offer, particularly real ales, and introducing well-planned, locally relevant events, the pub could broaden its appeal beyond its immediate regulars while remaining firmly rooted in the village. Enhancing its role as a true community hub, a new licensee could engage local residents through regular social events, partnerships with nearby producers, and effective use of social media to promote what’s on offer. Greater use of the external spaces would allow for seasonal trading opportunities, village gatherings, and summer events that take advantage of the pub’s attractive setting. With strong leadership, excellent standards, and a hands-on approach, The Three Bottles has the potential to become a well-known and much-loved pub in its immediate vicinity, celebrated for doing the fundamentals of traditional hospitality exceptionally well while trading successfully across multiple dayparts.
The Three Bottles is a traditional village pub situated in the attractive village of Great Yeldham, Essex, positioned on the busy route between Haverhill and Halstead. Centrally located within the village, it benefits from both local footfall and passing trade, while remaining firmly embedded in the heart of this smart and well-kept rural community. Great Yeldham lies in north-west Essex, close to the Suffolk border, and is surrounded by open countryside while enjoying good access to nearby towns such as Haverhill, Halstead and Sudbury. The village is well placed for visitors exploring the local area, with the Colne Valley Railway and Hedingham Castle both located nearby, providing additional tourism appeal. Great Yeldham supports a small but active community, with two other hospitality businesses serving the village, although The Three Bottles is ideally positioned to act as the primary social hub. The village is characterised by a mix of families, working professionals, and long-term residents, creating a stable and engaged population with a strong sense of local identity. With its prominent location and established presence, The Three Bottles plays an important role as a place for socialising, dining, and community gatherings, and has the potential to further strengthen its position at the heart of village life while attracting visitors from the surrounding area.
Pub Layout
The Three Bottles offers a well-balanced and characterful pub layout that combines traditional features with flexible trading spaces, all presented in excellent condition following a refurbishment completed just 18 months ago. Guests enter through the front door into the main bar area, where the central servery immediately draws the eye alongside a striking feature fireplace that creates a warm and welcoming focal point. This space functions as the social heart of the pub, ideal for casual drinks, village regulars, and relaxed gatherings throughout the day and evening. To the left of the main bar is a separate room overlooking the sunny patio garden, providing a lighter and more relaxed environment that lends itself well to dining, informal meetings, or quieter social occasions. To the right, a dedicated pool room offers additional versatility, featuring a small secondary bar servery and the potential to host small functions, games nights, or private events without impacting the main trading area. Externally, the pub benefits from a good-sized car park for six or more vehicles, ensuring convenience for both locals and visitors. There is also a further garden area with significant potential to become a real gem during the warmer months, offering space for sunny evening drinks, family gatherings, and community events. Overall, the thoughtful internal layout and attractive outdoor areas allow The Three Bottles to trade successfully across multiple dayparts while maintaining a welcoming village pub atmosphere at the heart of the community.
The Three Bottles currently operates as a wet-led village pub, primarily serving the local community and offering a welcoming, informal environment for social drinking. While trade is presently focused on village regulars, the quality of the pub, its recent refurbishment, and its flexible internal and external spaces present significant scope for growth across multiple areas of the business. There is strong potential to further develop the real ale offer, broaden the drinks range, and create a more diverse and engaging proposition that appeals to both existing customers and new audiences. By actively engaging with the local village and wider community, a new licensee could introduce well-marketed, regular events such as quizzes, live music, themed evenings, and community gatherings, strengthening the pub’s role as a social hub. The introduction of sports viewing could also help attract a younger demographic and increase midweek and evening trade. In addition, greater use of the attractive outdoor areas would unlock further opportunity during the warmer months, enabling alfresco drinking, seasonal events, and village celebrations. Overall, The Three Bottles offers a substantial opportunity to evolve from a traditional wet-led operation into a vibrant, multi-stream village pub that maximises its setting, facilities, and strong community potential.
The private accommodation consists of 2 bedroomed flat above the pub with bathroom, lounge office area. The kitchen is downstairs. There is a second floor to the accommodation, which is accessible, but is not available for sleeping due to constraints of a fire risk assessment. The accommodation area was refurbished in 2024 prior to occupation by the current tenant.
Annual Rent: £19,750
Security Deposit: £5,000 or the equivalent of three months’ rent, whichever is greater
Working Capital: £2,500
Stock: £4,500
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.
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 *
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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