Owners of a hotel, pub and restaurant feel it's “now time to move on” after turning the business around in just a year.

The Royal Oak Hotel in Hawkhurst is on the market for £765,000.

Bought in April last year, the pub in the Grade II-listed building was once rated the county’s worst by KentOnline’s Secret Drinker who visited in 2019.

However, current owner Laurence Bowes said it was now a thriving business known as “the hub of the community”.

He said: “It was always our intention to come in, turn the business around, and sell it on, and we feel we have done that.

“We are now fully booked until January.”

As well as the Royal Oak, Laurence also owns the Rock Inn in Chiddingstone Hoath, Edenbridge, and with another business also lined up he felt his efforts are better focused on the west side of the county.

He continued: “It’s always been a challenging business to run.

“But we have been successful and now it’s time to move on.

“We feel it is best we focus our efforts nearer to our other businesses.”

The building has 12 en-suite rooms, a bar and restaurant area, a beer garden and a car park.

It covers 9,135 sq ft and sits in a prominent place in the village, at the A229/A268 crossroads in Rye Road.

The Secret Drinker visited the pub in November 2019 and it’s fair to say he wasn’t very impressed.

He described it as being “as dull as dishwater” with “absolutely no life about it”, comparing it to a “quiet Premier Inn”.

The building dates back to the 16th century and was originally a group of several homes.

In 2003, the pub was gutted in a huge fire.

A £1 million investment was made to refurbish it using construction techniques similar to the ones used when it was originally built.

It had become a listed building in 1967. During this time, the pub’s cellars were also a meeting point for the Hawkhurst Young Conservatives and various other groups with a couple of jazz bands also using the space to practice.

The pub is on the market with estate agent Fleurets with all details found on its website.

Interested buyers can also call 0207 2804700 and use the reference LA-424344.