Today, I walked passed 'The Greyhound' in Hinckley and saw that it appears to have changed hands.
Marston's put the pub on the market at an extortionate price well over a year ago and seem to have had very little interest. Several months ago, the licensee of a nearby Marston's house, 'The New Plough', took it over still under the Marston's banner while negotiating a purchase. Two or three months ago scaffolding was erected across the front of the building and it's now been painted, the brickwork has been renovated to some degree and new windows have appeared. Today, I noticed that there is also a new pub sign, proclaiming both that it is a Marston's house and a Free House.
Exactly what the position is remains a little unclear, at least to me. The selling agent and Marston's both continue to include the house on their websites as for sale, though one states that it is 'sold subject to contract' and the other claims that it is 'under offer'. There does not yet appear to be any definite news of a sale, though it seems unlikely that Marston's would have spent money on the place and even less likely that anyone else would have had a sale not been either completed or certain.
Regardless, 'The Greyhound' now seems to have joined the growing number of ex-Marston's owned pubs in Hinckley and, on this occasion, it seems that it may really be a genuine 'Free House', unlike the 'Railway' and 'Prince of Wales', both of which were acquired by small breweries. I suppose I will have to make a visit to discover the whole story, though that is hardly likely to be hardship.
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