A new McCafferty’s Irish bar is set to open in Reading.
Aqua Pubs, which owns Wild Lime at 12-14 Friar Street, is to close the bar imminently and will reopen it as its sister brand McCafferty’s, which has bars in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Dubai.
The move follows the acquisition of the building by AEW UK Core Plus Property Fund which already owns the neighbouring site including the Pitcher & Piano, the former Revolution bar, the Harris Arcade and County House offices above.
The AEW fund has now acquired the Grade II-listed building at nos 12-14, which totals 6,505 sq ft including offices above at 12a, from McMullen & Sons. Those offices have potential for conversion to residential. The whole of 12-14 Friar Street is let to Mansfield Brewery Trading, a subsidiary of Marston’s plc, until September 2032. It has been sublet to Aqua Pubs which is the occupational tenant.
The price for the acquisition is thought to be in the region of £2 million.
In recent years AEW has also acquired the Broad Street Mall and a large section of properties in Broad Street.
Fiona Brownfoot, retail director for Hicks Baker, which acted for AEW UK Core Plus Property Fund, said: “The fact that AEW has acquired such significant investments is a great endorsement of the town. They have seen fit, over the course of a two-year period, to acquire not far off £100m of retail-led investments. The fact that they are adding to that is a further endorsement.”
Drake & Co acted for McMullen & Sons.
McCafferty’s has been approached for comment and we hope to update when we get a response.
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