Chef Heathcote to sell flagship restaurant after 20 years

Paul Heathcote has put his flagship outlet, the Longridge restaurant in Preston, Lancashire, up for sale after nearly 20 years.

The chef-restaurateur is selling the former two-Michelin-starred restaurant located in the village of Longridge in the Ribble Valley to focus on growing his more casual restaurant business, the Olive Press brand.

His company, Heathcotes, currently operates eight Olive Press outlets in the North West and plans to launch a further six over the next two and a half years.

The group also operates Simply Heathcotes in Liverpool as well as the Grill Room in Preston, the London Road Restaurant in Alderley Edge, and Grado in Manchester.

Heathcote told Caterersearch that the decision to put the Longridge restaurant on the market had not been an easy one.

“I have been contemplating the sale for the last 18 months and it wasn’t an easy decision to make but it’s the right one especially considering the way I want to grow the other side of the business,” he said.

“The business has become considerably bigger and this is a restaurant that needs a proprietor who can really drive it forward. It needs a new Paul Heathcote.”

The Longridge restaurant has 90 seats with a bar as well as a 12-seat private dining room.

Property agent Christie & Co has been instructed to sell the property and offers are being sought in the region of £595,000 for the freehold interest or £200,000 for the leasehold interest.

Last year, Heathcote shelved plans for a new fine-dining restaurant, the Elliot in Manchester, due to the economic climate.

Heathcote told Caterersearch that while plans have not been completely scrapped, the earmarked site in central Manchester has gone back to the ownership of the landlords.

Paul Heathcote puts fine-dining restaurant plans on hold >> 

Paul Heathcotes looks to the future with new sites and refurbishment of existing restaurants >>

Paul Heathcote >>

By Kerstin Kuhn

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