Bar up for sale one year after grand opening

A MOSELEY wine bar has been put up for sale just over a year after it first opened.

Cheval Blanc in Alcester Road is currently on offer for a £90,000 deal for the leasehold site.

The business was created by local entrepreneur Keith Marsden, who also runs the Dark Horse next door as well as the award-winning Prince of Wales pub nearby.

He is now planning to use the concept at a larger but as yet unidentified site in the city centre. Mr Marsden said: “The Cheval only has 40 covers and I think it’s a bit small for us so I’m looking at a bigger site in the city which I think has really come on in the last two or three years. Some of the newcomers are not particularly to my taste, but the city is now a more credible alternative to what it was like two or three years ago.

“I think Moseley is still a good place to be and that the Cheval is a good buy with a 15-year lease for £90,000 – it is in a prominent location and has been fitted out to a very high standard.

“Anyone coming in wouldn’t have to do wine, it could be something else. It could be really good for food and (selling) could be a fast turnaround.”

The Cheval is typically run by a staff of three who will be absorbed into the Humble Pub Company group’s other sites.

Its central feature is an underground spiral-shaped cellar for wine bottles, which cost £30,000 to create, pictured left.

Earlier in 2016 Mr Marsden took on the British Oak in Stirchley and has consolidated his businesses under the Humble Pub banner.