Grace Land acquires two new sites in London, looking to double estate to ten pubs in next few years

AG&G are pleased to have acted on behalf of London-based neighbourhood pub brand Grace Land to acquire two new venues in London. Anselm Chatwin of Grace Land has bought bar / restaurant Verden in Hackney and Jan’s Bar in Stoke Newington to take its portfolio to five sites.

Grace Land are looking to double the size of the estate over the next few years. AG&G acted on both deals for Grace Land, which is a partner of Barworks and currently operates the Black Heart in Camden Town, the Earl of Essex in Islington and the Kings Arms in Bethnal Green. Verden was acquired from a private landlord for an undisclosed sum. The building in Clarence Road is currently undergoing refurbishment and will reopen in the next couple of new weeks under new name The Mermaid. Chatwin said: “It’s a fantastic corner site. We’re going to be looking to do more food both here and at Jan’s alongside our range of beers.”

Jan’s Bar was acquired from a private vendor, via landlord Wellington Pub Company, for an undisclosed sum. Chatwin said: “It’s taken almost a year to do this deal. This one is a big project and we hope to open in January or February. It’s a great location but it needs a lot of love and attention. There’s a little house at the back that we want to use to create an indoor/outdoor area in the garden and also use as a private dining room.” Chatwin said he was looking to acquire further sites to continue expansion. He added: “We’re working on a few potential deals at the moment. It’s difficult though to get good calibre sites and rents are going crazy as well. We’re looking to get to ten in the next couple of years and then we’ll have a think about where we go from there.”

Michael Penfold, from AG&G, said: “We are delighted to have done a number of deals for Grace Land and Barworks including a hat-trick of transactions in the last three weeks. We look forward to supporting them in the future.”

For further information, contact Michael Penfold on: Tel: 020 7836 7826 or E-mail: michael.penfold@agg.uk.com