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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
James McNeill

'Eyesore' Wetherspoons sold after failed £3m development

A Merseyside JD Wetherspoons has sold for half a million pounds.

The Master Mariner in New Brighton had been the subject of a planned £3m revamp which included expanding into the adjoining empty Lacy’s Bar. The pub originally opened in 2013 on the site of the former RJs and the Playas Lounge nightclubs.

Earlier this month it was confirmed that it had been listed at auction with a guide price of £300,000 to £350,000. A spokesperson for Wetherspoons has confirmed that an exchange on the property has been made.

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The plans for The Master Mariner expansion were approved in the summer of 2021. Wetherspoons initially bought the neighbouring Lacy’s Bar in 2015 but was previously slammed for not developing the "eyesore" building.

The Master Mariner (Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

In March 2022 the seaside bar and restaurant closed as work began on the transformation. Works were set to be completed by August of the same year but the pub chain announced its doors had to remain closed while works continued, with no reopening date given. In April 2023, Wetherspoons announced the development would not be taken any further, and that the site would be sold.

The building is thought to have been sold for £500,000. The listing for the property said: "The property is situated on the south side of Union Terrace, at its junction with Rowson Street. Directly opposite Marine Point, significant retail and leisure destination serving the Wirral Peninsula. Occupiers close by include The Light Cinema, Travelodge, Prezzo and Riverside Bowl, and Laserquest.”

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