Historic Bayswater pub sold for a record £27 million

Black Lion pub in Bayswater Credit: Google Street View

The 300 year old Black Lion on Bayswater Road was sold today for £27 million, a record for a central London pub. The Spirit Pub Company has sold it to a developer called 123 Bayswater Road Ltd, though has said it will “continue to run the pub for an agreed period”.

The Black Lion has been listed as an ale house since 1704, and in 1803 it was used as a hub to recruit the Paddington Volunteers, a group formed to fight an invasion by Napoleon.

Most expensive pub sold in London was in Canary Wharf in 2008

It is the latest in a number of pubs being sold to developers, with Punch Taverns PLC announcing earlier this month it will be selling five of their central London inns to Manica Properties Limited. The most expensive pub ever sold in the capital was in 2008; The City Pride in Canary Wharf had a price tag of £32 million.