A new-bourne identity for Cork’s Woodford bar?

IS THERE a market yet for a pub sale in Cork city, significantly over the €1m mark? A bar in an historic building, long associated with wine and spirits company Woodford Bourne, aims to find out, as the Woodford Bar comes to market seeking a new Bourne identity.

Set 100 metres from where Wetherspoons have just cleared planning hurdles to open a city bar (see planning notes p20), and just off Patrick Street and the Grand Parade, the Woodford (previously Maguires) is up for sale this week guided at €1.25m for a receiver David Taite, of Duff & Phelps, via joint agents Cohalan Downing in Cork and Morrisseys in Dublin.

A 19th century warehouse building on Paul Street, with access to Daunts Square, the Woodford has a history stretching to 1750 in the wine and spirits trade. The building opened as a bar in the 1980s, with some 6,900 sq ft in all, over five levels and with 2,400 sq ft at ground level.

Run by a company called Westhatch, it has been associated with brothers Niall, Tadhg and Francis O’Callaghan who also owned another Cork bar at Turners Cross. It went into receivership in late 2008 with bank debts reported at the time at €5m, and several subsequent attempts were made to sell it, at prices from over €7m to €4.2m in early 2009, only attracting offers around €2m by 2010. It was eventually leased at c €100,000 pa to a consortium that included publicans Jonny O’Mahony and David Walsh with businessman Chris Dineen, who had an option to buy.

After a comprehensive refit, put at €300,000, sibling restaurateurs Jacque and Eithne Barry brought a food service to the Woodford, only finishing when they redeveloped their original Jacques restaurant and expanded it onto Oliver Plunkett Street. The food side was then taken up for period by Beth Haughton and Harold Lynch of Club Brasserie fame.

The Woodford continues to trade under its lease, until May of this year, and has now been put to the open market, offered by way of best and final bids, guiding at €1.25m.

Location is at 19/20 Paul Street, near the Bodega, Cornstore and Rising Sun micro-brewery, and it faces the completed Cornmarket Centre, anchored by Lidl and TK Maxx with other traders. It’s also close to a McDonalds, Waterstones, and the Capitol cinema site, now due to be redeveloped for retail and office use by John Cleary Developments.

Agent Brian Olden of Cohalan Downing says the Woodford is “one of the city’s renowned pubs, attractively fitted out and, together with its cut stone facade, is a building of real size and quality in Cork city’s prime commercial and entertainment district.”

Also on Paul Street, Wetherspoons are due to open later this year in the former 12,000 sq ft Mangans/Newport bar, sold to them by Cohalan Downing in 2013 for under €1m, having guided at €875,000, and now due significant alterations.

The same agents have another city bar under advanced offer, also likely to breach the stubborn €1m mark.

Details: Cohalan Downing 021-4277717, Morrisseys 01-6765781