Wetherspoons have secured a space in Merseyside for a new hotel.
The company have purchased Pavilion Buildings in Southport from Sefton Council to home a new 28 room hotel.
The hotel will be above the Sir Henry Segrave pub on Lord Street, a venue that the company already own.
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The purchase has come after the company submitted an undisclosed bid that was put before the council last Thursday.
In a report put before the council last week, Stephan Van Arendsen, Sefton Council executive director of corporate resources and customer services, said: "The Council was first approached by Wetherspoons in 2018 and received in January 2019 a formal offer to acquire the freehold interest in Pavilion Buildings.
"High level schematics accompanied the offer, which showed the upper floors of the building being converted into 28 ensuite bedrooms.
"The tenant would effectively continue to operate the Sir Henry Seagrave public house on the ground floor, with hotel accommodation provided above."
The building's upper floors have been left empty, with significant maintenance costs proving a burden for the council.
The bill, estimated to be £480,000, will now be taken on by the pub and hotel chain.
The reports said: "Overall, the accommodation is dated and in need of repair. In recent years there have been issues with the roof leaking, leading to water ingress into the public house on the ground floor.
"The premises need a rewire. The current backlog of maintenance works informed by the latest Asset Management condition survey stands at £480,000."
The purchase is set to bring a boost to the night time and leisure economies in the town, with Wetherspoon's adding to it's Southport portfolio with the company also owning the Willow Tree, also on Lord Street.
A Sefton Council spokesperson said: "The report which went to cabinet last Thursday was agreed and as such this means the sale of Pavilion Buildings has been approved.
"It is for an undisclosed fee which is and will remain confidential."
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