A popular Newcastle match day bar has been snapped up by a growing hospitality group. City centre venue Bar Loco, which is popular with football fans heading to and from St James’ Park, hit the market with a £125,000 price tag in February, with estate agents expecting lots of interest in the site.
The Leazes Park Road bar has very high footfall, with Newcastle students as well as football supporters regularly visiting the venue’s bar areas spread over two floors. It also has a large sun-trap beer garden in front of the Georgian terraced building.
The remainder of a 10-year leasehold, which started in January 2019 and is free of trade ties, was also available on the venue. Now it can be revealed that rapidly rising leisure operator Sayturk Group has swooped for the popular bar and restaurant,
The Groat Market based property development, hospitality and leisure company already manages a number of city centre sites, including concept bars, late-night venues, pubs, cafes and luxury holiday apartments. Its venues include the lease of the popular European-style cafe bar Société on Grey Street, Newcastle, as well as the former Chicken Coop restaurant adjoining Metropolitan House.
It also operates Liberty House – the former Union Rooms site in Newcastle – and Osborne’s in Jesmond, and Swarley’s, the former Blackie Boy, in Newcastle’s Bigg Market, having acquired the leases from Malhotra Group and Vaulkhard Group respectively. The latest acquisition comes hot on the heels of several other high-profile deals in Newcastle’s hospitality sector, including its acquisition of the lease of Metropolitan House on Collingwood Street, Newcastle which will be converted into a stylish boutique-style 21-bedroom hotel and bar.
The firm also has plans for a private rooftop garden terrace for the use of hotel guests. The building is set to undergo significant refurbishment to bring the building back to life.
Sayturk Group are also behind the Flower Café concept, with its next venue due to open in with its next venue due to open in Sunderland’s Keel Square later in the year’s Keel Square later in the year, adding to its other Flower Café venues in Newcastle’s Grainger Town, Whitley Bay and Alnwick. A fifth Flower Café is also in the making on Osborne Road in Jesmond and is due to open in the third quarter of this year.
Sayturk Group struck all the deals, including the Bar Loco acquisition, with help from commercial law firm Sweeney Miller Law.
Zafer Saygilier, CEO of Sayturk Group said: “Sweeney Miller Law’s commercial team, led by the esteemed Surbhi Vedhara, was entrusted with managing the legal intricacies of the acquisition and her expertise and dedication were instrumental in the successful completion of Bar Loco. This is the ninth deal completed in the last 36 months with the assistance of Surbhi and her expert team.”
Surbhi Vedhara, managing partner at Sweeney Miller Law, said: “This is yet another wonderful acquisition for Zafar and the Sayturk Group in the North East and it was fantastic to work with them again as they continue to grow. We are excited to work with them on whatever comes next. At a time when the hospitality sector is facing so many challenges, it is refreshing to see good operators like Zafer continuing to grow and outperform the market.”
