Iconic closed pub next to busy UK dual carriageway up for sale – £950k guide price

A popular Essex pub that ‘disappointed’ the community when it closed two years ago has gone up for sale. Greene King’s Dick Turpin pub just south of Wickford, Essex, closed in July 2024.

The closure came as a disappointment to biker groups, who used the pub on the A127 as a meeting spot, and the pub’s many other locals. In 2025, it was reported that the pub could be brought back into use after Basildon Council agreed to Greene King’s plans for a change of use. The pub has remained vacant since then, but that might not be the case for much longer, as it is now up for sale on WTS Property Consultants’ website.

The agents say that the ground floor features a central bar, dining areas on either side, including a carvery station, and an indoor play area, with a total capacity for around 175 covers. Other facilities include customer toilets, a beer store, an office, a staff room, a large commercial kitchen, and multiple storage spaces.

The pub has a guide price of £950,000 plus VAT, with agents saying it will appeal to “restaurateurs, developers, builders and investors”. It also has alternate use potential, subject to obtaining the necessary consents.

Greene King, which has around 2,500 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland, recently revealed plans to put around 150 of its pubs up for sale as part of a major shake-up of its estate.

The brewery giant, which also brews Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Belhaven beers, has identified around “300 managed sites that would be better served under different models”.

The firm expects roughly half of these – about 150 pubs – to be converted into leased, tenanted or franchise venues within its Pub Partners estate, with the remaining 150 sites to be evaluated for a potential sale.

Greene King also identified a small number of sites for closure, representing fewer than 2% of the managed estate, in line with the group’s typical annual activity.

Announcing the brewery’s annual results, Green King chief executive Nick Mackenzie said: “Long-term permanent reform from Government is essential to ensure that unprecedented costs do not hold back the enormous potential of the sector.”