A CHANCE has been presented to buy a unique “thriving little business” that brews its own ales and gin.

The Fox, in Briggate, Shipley has been put up for sale with a guide price of £75,000, listed by business agents Ernest Wilson.

The drinking and entertainment venue and microbrewery is styled like a continental café bar and was opened back in September 2013 by Chris Bee.

It features a huge choice of around 60 British and European beers, lagers, and ales.

The building had been a curryhouse, dress shop, and furniture store in the past but has become popular with real ale fans and features a small-batch brewing operation in the cellar, which is named Beespoke.

The vision of The Fox – named after the former Fox & Hounds in Commercial Street, Shipley, that was demolished for road widening – came about when Chris was making deliveries to bars in vibrant areas of Manchester.

He said last September when talking to the Telegraph & Argus for its Pub of the Week feature: “I used to go to bars in cosmopolitan suburbs like Chorlton and I envisaged something similar in Shipley, where I live.”

Chris - who was a partner in Salamander Brewery, now Stubbee Brewery – has decided to call time on his tenure of The Fox in order to invest in his property portfolio.

He feels the in-house brewery might be an extra draw for potential new owners of the venue, which won CAMRA’s Outer Bradford Pub of the Year in 2019 after being runner-up since 2015.

Chris said: "I have a background in brewing beer and distilling spirits so we have always produced small batches of our own brand of limited edition gin and craft ales at the Fox.

"I’m really keen to pass on my knowledge and expertise to anyone interested in taking over the venue who’s not yet been initiated in the art of making beers and spirits so that they can carry on the tradition.

“The still and brewery is in place and working well in our cellar, so it would just involve training someone in how to carry out the process."

He added: "The brewing side of the business is actually quite a lucrative one.

“With our average weekly turnover of around £6,000, this is a thriving little business."

The Fox regularly draws large numbers of customers for its events schedule and it seats 50 people inside, with seating outside in a heated beer garden for a further 20 customers.