A pint for me and a property investment for the wife

photo credit: CharlesThompson
If you thought the prices at your local boozer were going up to an extortionate amount, spare a thought for the locals of the City Pride in East London’s Docklands, their favorite place for a tipple has just been sold for £32m - a recording-breaking price for a pub.

Residential property developers Glenkerrin have bought the site from Oracle Group, who paid £6.75m for it just 12 months ago. Planning permission is currently being sought for a 60-storey building on the 0.6 acre site, housing a five star hotel and 400 apartments. The end value of the development is set to be £240m.

Pork scratchings not paninis

One unimpressed local is quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying: “I’m sick of decent pubs closing to make way for posh hotels and fancy gastropubs. All I want after work is a quiet drink with my mates with some peanuts and pork scratchings, not paninis and sun-dried tomatoes.” Quite.

You’re fired

I can sort of see the ‘disgruntled local drinker’s’ point but for anyone who’s seen The Apprentice, you’ll know Canary Wharf and the Docklands is a prime site for making bags of money (anyone interested in a Zonda for a day?) and it’s not often a site like this comes up for property developers.

Lets be honest, it might as well be paved with gold for them. And with the Olympics looming, if they can get the place finished by 2010 they should be in for a windfall.

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