Reading's fine dining venue L'Ortolan up for sale with offers around £1.25m invited
A Grade II Listed former vicarage, home to the award-winning 'L'Ortolan', one of Reading's only fine dining restaurants, is up for sale with offers of around £1.25 million being invited.
Built in Gothic Revival style, L'Ortolan, which serves modern French cuisine, lies in the village of Shinfield, 6km south of the centre of Reading.
According to Savills' website, it is an 80 cover restaurant arranged over two floors and includes an extensive commercial kitchen, dining areas, office and store.
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There is also a large patio terrace, mature gardens and two car parks for around 40 vehicles.
The opportunity, decribed as "rare", is to acquire the freehold going concern in the restaurant, which has been trading from the venue for more than 20 years.
The estate agent said it has been provided with trading accounts, which confirm the restaurant has been consistently generating a net turnover in the order of £1.5 million.
In terms of tenure, all staff are to transfer under the transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) TUPE regulations.
Trading accounts will be supplied to interested parties upon request, said Savills, while the site is also underpinned by its alternative use potential (STP).
Savills said it understands that the rateable value for the property is £78,100.
It is said the restaurant's origins can be traced back to its opening by chef Richard Sandford in 1984 when it was known as Milton Sandford.
It was later bought by Nico Ladenis, who left the restaurant he renamed as Chez Nico in 1986. A few months later, John Burton-Race opened the restaurant, calling it L'Ortolan. It has been operated by a series of Michelin-starred chefs. The current head chef is James Greatorex.
Coming up at the restaurant on August 25 is a Summer Whites dinner event to mark the end of the summer season.
Men and women are invited to dress up in either white or pastel shades of dresses or suits with the best dressed couple awarded a prize of a free meal on the night and a bottle of sparkling wine to take away.
