Property specialists say they expect the pub ‘to be well-received in the market and encourage interested parties to get in touch’
The Head of Steam in Hull(Image: Christie & Co)
A popular Hull city centre pub has been put up for sale by its owner amid a shake-up of its UK estate. Camerons Brewery has owned and run the hugely successful Head of Steam brand since snapping it up in 2013, triggering a UK rollout to take its popular formula around the country, including into Hull.
From humble beginnings in Newcastle in the 1990s the traditional pub firm – originally created by Tony and Carolyn Brookes – is now serving up drinks, including pints of guests craft beer and cider, in cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool, with plans to take it even further around the UK. However, the company has now decided it wants to sell up the Hull city centre site.
The Head of Steam has traded from King Street in the Trinity Quarter ever since opening in late June 2016. The brewing giant took over the former Purple Pig pub, refurbishing the venue after describing Hull as “a very vibrant city”.
Now, however, specialist business property adviser Christie & Co has been instructed to market the pub, alongside three others in the North East, on behalf of Camerons Brewery following a review of its portfolio. The Head of Steam in Hull is up for sale with a freehold asking price of £475,000.
Marketing materials highlight how it is ready for “immediate occupation and trade”, with the potential for the upper floor of the property to be redeveloped. The move comes two years after Camerons Brewery sold 26 pubs to FB Taverns for £8.25m.
The Hartlepool business, makers of lagers and beers including Strongarm and Röad Crew, disposed of the freehold tenanted pubs to the London company to allow it focus on its brewery business and managed pubs, which includes the Head of Steam chain.
John Foots, finance director for Camerons, said: “We have undertaken a strategic review of the estate and identified these four sites for disposal. As is well-publicised, we sold our leased and tenanted estate in 2024.
“The Mitre and The Wheelhouse are amongst the last of our community pubs operating under franchise, and it makes sense for us to explore a sale. The Head of Steam in Hull is a great site but is now somewhat of an outlier when you look across the wider Head of Steam brand, which we are very keen on expanding after our recent success in Manchester.
“The Head of Steam on Neville Street is one of our oldest sites operating under that brand and it has helped shape the rest of the estate in many ways, so we are keen to stay in there. We’re massively confident we can continue to trade well and so a sale and leaseback works brilliantly for us.”
David Cash, regional director – Pubs & Restaurants at Christie & Co, added: “We have worked with Camerons on a number of sites over the years, and in 2025 brokered sales of Sanctuary in Scarborough and The Rattler in South Shields on their behalf. We expect these new opportunities to be well-received in the market and encourage interested parties to get in touch.”
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