Investors wait for pub smoke to clear

INVESTORS are waiting for the smoke to clear on the workplace tobacco ban before sinking their money into pubs, an overview of recent property sales suggests.

Pub sales in Dublin are holding their own, and have even picked up a bit after several lean years, but potential buyers are taking a more cautious approach to premises in the rest of the country.

“There is a good deal of business on hold,” said Bill Morrissey of Morrisseys Auctioneers which handles sales both in the capital and nationwide. “There is an element of uncertainty and it has delayed people making their minds up.