A former Wetherspoons pub in Merseyside, which was purchased for £662,400, could fetch up to £3m as it hits the market again. The Master Mariner in New Brighton was slated for a £3m makeover in 2022, including an expansion into the neighbouring vacant Lacy's Bar.
The pub first opened its doors in 2013 on the site of the old RJs and the Playas Lounge nightclubs. Previously owned by J D Wetherspoon, it shut down for redevelopment and enlargement in 2022, but the project was abruptly halted in 2023. Since then, the half-demolished building
Land Registry records reveal that LSF Estates Developments Limited acquired the site in July 2023 for £662,400. Now, they are looking to offload it via chartered surveyors Hitchcock Wright and Partners.
The property's boundary encompasses the existing Portofino Italian restaurant - whose occupational lease would be terminated upon completion of the sale - as well as the former Wetherspoons and a cleared plot of land to the east of the site, reports .
The site is located opposite the Marine Point development, which houses a Light Cinema, a Prezzo, a Travelodge, Greggs, and a Nandos. The vacant Queens Royal Hotel, situated next to the old Wetherspoons, is currently under offer according to Hitchcock Wright and Partners' website.
Promotional documents for the sale of the site emphasise its position within the New Brighton Masterplan, a blueprint created by Wirral Council to support its draft Local Plan. The Local Plan is a significant development policy that outlines how, when, and where development should occur in the Wirral over the next 20 years.
The comprehensive masterplan includes new apartments, hotels, leisure spaces, and a lido. Hitchcock and Wright suggested the pub site could potentially accommodate a nine-storey building featuring ground floor retail and leisure space, 147 apartments, and three townhouses.
Another possibility could be a 200-bed hotel with 59 apartments and three townhouse, with earlier reporting that Hitchcock Wright and Partners were asking for offers in the region of £3m.
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