The 15th-century White Hart bar and restaurant in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, has been sold to a local first-time pub buyer.

New owner Stephen Cooper from nearby Great Swanley was assistant leisure centre manager for Huntingdon District Council.

The Grade II-listed detached property – which is part timber-framed and part brick - sits on the main road in the town, which is on the River Great Ouse and near the main A14 and A1 roads.

It provides a 70-seat restaurant, a 30-seat bar, a sheltered beer garden and patio seating as well as three-bedroom owners’ accommodation. Trade is split equally between drink and food.

The Ipswich office Christie + Co sold the leasehold, which runs to November 2020, off a guide price of £195,000 on behalf of Willem Middlemiss, who has owned the Enterprise Inns’ lease since 2000. The current rent is £35,000 per annum.

Sister company Christie Finance sourcing the funding for the new owner.

By Angela Frewin