30 May 2012

Finborough freehold takes centre stage

Anyone looking for a property with a bit of drama need look no further – the building housing Chelsea’s famous Finborough Theatre and the Finborough Wine Café is up for sale.

The guide price is £1.05 million for the freehold of the SW10 building, which has a gross internal floor area of approximately 486 square metres (5,230 square feet). Currently, the property is subject to two leases, with the pub tenant taking the ground and basement trading areas and a second-floor, four-bed residential flat, and a second tenant occupying the 50-seat theatre on the first floor.

“This is an unusual proposition that might suit budding impresarios as well as more conventional investors,” says AG&G’s David Gooderham, who is dealing with the sale.

“Since it was established in 1980, the Finborough has earned a reputation as one of London’s leading fringe theatres and has received many accolades from the national press, while the pub part of the property has been popular with generations of drinkers since it was built in 1868.

“That said, the property is no stranger to change. The first floor has been used in the past as a restaurant, a billiards hall and a Masonic Lodge. It’s a desirable property in an appealing location.”

The property is on Finborough Road, within easy walking distance of West Brompton station (tube and overground) and around 600 metres from Earls Court station. Fulham Road and King’s Road are a short distance to the south.

The pub section is let on a five-year lease, which expires in September 2015, and the tenant has an option to renew. The rent is currently £32,000pa plus there is an annual licence fee of £4,000 and various other charges. The theatre lease pays a rent of £5,106pa and expires in June 2012. The total amount collectible from the two leases is around £42,874pa.

For more information, contact David Gooderham on 020 7836 7826, e-mail dgooderham@agg.uk.com.

AG&G are chartered surveyors specialising in the licensed leisure industry, with the skill and experience needed to value, assess or promote a property not simply as bricks and mortar but as a business. If it involves the price of a licensed premises, its profitability, rental value, investment prospects or value in a dispute, AG&G can help.

AG&G
8 Exchange Court,
London, WC2R 0JH