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Punch Taverns has put a Northampton pub up for sale amid concerns over its future from local residents.

The fate of The Rose and Claret in West Hunsbury – the only pub in the area – was thrown into uncertainty after it was boarded up and rumours surfaced that it could be demolished to make way for housing.

A spokeswoman for Punch Taverns explained to reporters at the weekend that the pub site had been boarded up for security reasons while the company weighs up the pub's future.

"Nothing is confirmed at this stage but the pub is on the market," she added to the Northampton Chronicle and Echo. "However, we are also exploring other options which would allow it to continue as a pub and if somebody came forward looking to run the site we would be keen to talk to them."

Local councillor Paul Varnsverry further commented that he'd prefer the site to be used for a "community-type facility" than extra housing for the area. A pub or family restaurant "would bring new employment and new services", he noted.

In other news from the hospitality sector, reports that Norfolk-headquartered company London Town is set to go through a pre-pack administration process have seen shares in the firm plummet.

The debt-ridden business was established as a pub operator over three years ago when it bought nearly 170 outlets from property developer Jack Petchey.

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An iconic B&B for sale in Shropshire is expected to attract "significant interest" from a wide range of potential buyers. The De Grey's Townhouse business sale is being handled by London-based Christie + Co, with a guide price of £1.25 million.

Home to De Grey's Tearooms for over 100 years, the Elizabethan property in Ludlow contains a licensed restaurant – with its own bakery shop – and nine bespoke guest bedrooms, in addition to its luxury B&B.

Christie + Co director Philip Stimpson has pointed out to prospective buyers of the hospitality business that it's listed in the Michelin Guide 2009 as a "red hotel", with the business sale encompassing the freehold of the tearoom, restaurant and shop as well as a ten-year lease on the B&B.

"This is an amazing opportunity to acquire an established and unique business that is renowned locally, regionally and further afield," he adds. "There is also scope to develop the business further, especially concentrating on building up evening trade."

The B&B for sale has been run and developed by its current owners for nearly 11 years. Its guest bedrooms have achieved a five-star Gold rating from VisitBritain and a five-star rating from the AA.

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The agent responsible for 13 pub sales – that came about after Elizabeth Estates fell into administration in December – says there is "strong interest" in the freeholds of the free-of-tie tenanted establishments. The pubs for sale are available individually or as a group and it's believed they'll produce around £2.5 million.

At the moment the pubs, located in Suffolk and Essex, produce a combined rent of £213,000 and are being sold by GVA Grimley. They form part of a 27-strong chain that includes 14 hotels.

KPMG was appointed administrator for Elizabeth Hotels' 27 sites when the company – one of the East of England's biggest hotel firms – was put into administration. Joint administrator Allan Graham said the company's financial liabilities "made it impossible to continue running the businesses as they stood".

He added: "We will continue to trade the business in the short term whilst a buyer is sought for the hotels and pubs, individually or as a group."

Although only one property, near Hull, had been purchased by the end of 2009, Graham maintains the Humber Crown Hotel sale, coupled with "the level of interest to date", has provided encouragement that further hotel sales are imminent.

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It looks like a Derby establishment could be joining the growing list of hotels for sale in the UK, as its owners confirm they've appointed an agent to look into the possibility of putting it on the market.

Midland Road's three-star Legacy Aston Court Hotel is the latest in a long line of potential hotels for sale after experiencing the sting of the economic downturn.

Andy Townsend, chief executive of Legacy Hotels and Resorts, which operates the 55-bedroom outlet, confirmed to the Derby Evening Telegraph that the economic climate in the city had given rise to the possibility of the hotel being put up for sale, though additional areas of investment are being explored "to maintain and develop the asset".

"It continues to be business as usual, and all the staff and management are committed to providing our customers with excellent service at their Christmas and New Year functions, and the hotel will continue to trade as usual into 2010," he added.

Meanwhile, Thwaites has refrained from adding to the UK's current roster of pubs for sale by permanently reopening Blackburn's Sportsman’s Arms, one of eight outlets closed by the brewery last month.

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Pub and hotel owner Thwaites – recognisable to most as the brains behind the Lancaster Bomber and Nutty Black ales – has put up eight pubs for sale.

But the brewery giant has been criticised for specifying that prospective buyers of the East Lancashire outlets cannot continue to run them as pubs. The company's pubs for sale include Padiham's Victoria Hotel, Accrington's Adelphi and the Sportsman’s Arms in Blackburn.

The Campaign for Real Ale says local entrepreneurs "should at least be given the opportunity" to make a success of the pubs.

But Licensed Victuallers' Association representative Geoff Sutcliffe, himself the landlord of Blackburn's Rising Sun, told the Lancashire Telegraph a lot of the pubs for sale are in areas "that would not be viable anyway".

"I think we have got to be realistic about this," he added. "This is a business decision. Thwaites would not sell a pub if it was viable."

The practice of placing restrictions on the future of pubs for sale was slammed by MPs earlier this year, leading Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns to scrap it. The latter, Britain’s second biggest pub operator, has put up nearly 400 underperforming pubs for sale in the past year.

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Interesting figures to emerge from the Las Vegas of Lancashire this week: despite a healthy tourism season, Blackpool now has guest houses, self-catering apartments and hotels for sale to the tune of £72 million.

Number-crunchers say 300 holiday accommodation outlets have gone on the market in the last 12 months alone, but shifting them is proving a problem for landlords in the amusement-park mecca.

Step back two years and the total cost of guest houses and hotels for sale in the resort stood around the £55 million mark. And where are those in the property know pointing the blame?

Why, the banks of course – the surge in the overall cost of hotels for sale along the Golden Mile would appear to be down to lenders' reluctance to give buyers a leg up the holiday accommodation ladder.

"I don't think I have seen through a single hotel sale in the past few months," Paul Crossley – managing director at Kenricks Commercial Property – tells the Blackpool Gazette. "There are potential buyers with cash out there but it doesn't matter how good the deposit is, the banks don't want to lend."

So there you have it – a backlog in Blackpool hotels for sale that ranges from small six-bedroom guest houses to bigger hotels boasting 40 rooms or more. Watch this space for updates …

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Expect to see more restaurants for sale springing up in the coming months and years – perfect if you're looking to bring a touch of authentic Italian (well, Italian American) flavour to the business table.

US-owned pizza delivery franchiser Papa John's is set to open ten new stores before the year is out, bringing its 2009 total to 40. Over the next five years, the company aims to have "at least 300" outlets running.

And there's more: Papa John's is investing an impressive £5 million in a new fresh dough facility to support its UK growth plans. Covering nearly 50,000 square feet, the Quality Control Centre is scheduled to open in Milton Keynes during the first three months of 2010.

Ian Saunders, UK managing director for the chain, reckons the plant is a vital development moving forward, since "Papa John's is famous for using 100 per cent fresh dough 100 per cent of the time".

He also says the firm believes the plant will let them "reach for the sky in the UK pizza delivery market", stating that the purchase of the site "is further proof that Papa John's UK is going places".

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Following the collapse into administration of Brentwood Hotels Ltd, four well-known hotels in the North East have been put up for sale.

The Swallow (125 rooms) in Stockton, the Swallow (103 rooms) in Gateshead, the Three Tuns (50 rooms) in Durham town centre and the Imperial (122 ensuite rooms) in Jesmond, Newcastle are just four of nine hotels for sale that the administrators are eager to shift as soon as possible. The others are in Glasgow, Preston, Essex, Ipswich and Carlisle.

The administrators, Anthony Spicer and James Mooney of Smith & Williamson, are reportedly in negotiations with stakeholders of the collapsed business, but are welcoming expressions of interest from third parties.

Brentwood Hotels is the trading name of investment vehicle, F&C REIT Asset Management.

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RBS are reportedly pondering on whether to put up 1000 of its pubs for sale, although they are refusing to comment publicly on the topic.

The pubs in question are all managed by Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises. Word has it that RBS are scouting about for a cash-rich pub chain operator or property company. Scottish & Newscastle themselves are believed to be thinking about the purchase, although they are similarly tight-lipped.

Anyone with cash and hankering to own a chain of pubs may well find that this low in the market is the perfect time to buy.

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