Bromwich Hardy marketing Café opportunity at former monastery in Coventry

The National Trust is looking for a business partner with flair and imagination to run its café at the 14th Century Grade I-listed former Charterhouse monastery in Coventry, said agents Bromwich Hardy, which is marketing the opportunity.

The entrance to Charterhouse, once the home of Robert Dudley, is just off Coventry's inner ring road, less than 10 minutes walking distance from the city centre and the mainline train station.

The site was founded in 1381 and includes the only surviving interiors from a medieval Carthusian monastery in the UK.

It has undergone a £10m-plus restoration programme, which has included reconstructed chimneys and roof, restoration of 15th and 16th century wall paintings, a disabled lift, the conservatory and the new car park.

Caine Gilchrist, a surveyor at Bromwich Hardy, said tenders were now being invited to operate the café lease for £24,000 a year, which included a fully fitted kitchen and café with outdoor seating, plus a 130-space car park onsite.

"Bromwich Hardy is delighted to invite prospective tenants to tender for this rare opportunity to operate a leasehold café through the National Trust, which is working in partnership with the Historic Coventry Trust and the John Muir Trust," he said.

"Charterhouse is brilliantly positioned with a free-to-access park and we are expecting the new café to open early 2025."

He said the café had 60 indoor and 30 outdoor covers and the 1,981 sq ft property came fully equipped with "all kitchen and dining areas fitted out".

Charterhouse's walled garden spans around 1.7-acres with a further 8-acres in the outer area, including a newly created wildlife pond and community orchard.

The site is surrounded by residential housing and linked to the city centre via the Heritage Park, which will eventually include walking and cycling routes.

Gilchrist added: "Charterhouse’s excellent, all-weather car parking for 130 cars also has an overflow capacity in the disused former rugby pitch for an estimated extra 100 cars."

The lease is to be processed via formal tender, with a submission deadline of midnight on December 16 this year.

For more details, see HERE.