THE Bell at Broadway near Ilminster is being acquired by South West pub chain St Austell Brewery.

The Bell at Broadway is a recently refurbished 17th century inn three miles outside of Ilminster, in Broadway. The popular village pub, which has a bar, restaurant, wood-fired pizza oven, beer garden and six en-suite guest bedrooms, will join St Austell Brewery’s estate of 122 leased and tenanted pubs located across the west country.

The 380-year-old pub, which is the oldest in its area, is being sold by local businessman Robert Doak, who carried out a major renovation at The Bell in 2018 and has built a strong reputation for excellent food and warm hospitality.

This latest acquisition is the next stage for this 173-year-old business, which alongside its tenanted estate also directly manages 44 pubs across the South West and brews award-winning beers including Tribute pale ale, Proper Job IPA and Korev lager.

Mr Doak, who has owned The Bell for seven years, said: “It was a difficult decision to let the pub go, but I am excited for its future, safe in the knowledge that St Austell Brewery recognises all that has been done to develop the reputation of the pub. We have worked hard to create the best pub we can, and certainly had some fun on the way.

“Having had a close working relationship with St Austell since we opened, they were the only people we felt comfortable selling to, despite numerous advances over time. St Austell are an independent, local company, which genuinely shares our values and is committed to continuing to run a high-quality and community-focused village pub. I wish them all the best and look forward to giving them our ongoing support from the other side of the bar."

Kevin Georgel, CEO of St Austell Brewery said: “We are committed to growing our pub estate through acquiring pubs that fit our ethos of quality experiences, and as such we are delighted to be acquiring The Bell at Broadway. It is a fantastic pub at the heart of its community with an excellent reputation and loyal following - a perfect match for us.

“Robert and his team at The Bell have done a tremendous job building an authentic, community pub and we are looking forward to continuing this great work with the team. We are now searching for the ideal business partner to run The Bell and will be working with Robert to ensure a smooth handover for the team and customers.”