Last updated: 5 October 2026, 9.05pm
At a glance
- The owner of the former Montreal Arms in Hanover notified Brighton and Hove City Council on 23 September that he intends to sell the freehold.
- Because the pub is an Asset of Community Value, eligible local groups have until 3 November 2026 to ask to be treated as a potential bidder.
- An eligible expression of interest would trigger a six-month moratorium, giving a group until 22 March 2027 to prepare and fund a bid.
- The process creates time to bid, not a right of first refusal: the owner does not have to accept a community offer.
- No current asking price or live commercial listing was visible in the sources checked at publication time.
The Montreal Arms Brighton sale process has opened a short window for community organisations to step forward, with expressions of interest due by 3 November.
A notice displayed at the former pub says owner Charlie Southall informed Brighton and Hove City Council on 23 September that he intends to sell the freehold. Brighton and Hove News reported the notice on Monday 5 October.
The building at 62 Albion Hill, on the corner of Montreal Road, has been closed for several years. Its status as an Asset of Community Value — secured after a nomination by Friends of the Montreal Arms and upheld at tribunal — means the owner cannot complete a sale immediately without allowing the statutory community-bid process to run.
What happened in the Montreal Arms Brighton sale process
The first stage is a six-week interim moratorium. A qualifying community interest group must write to the council by 3 November and ask to be treated as a potential bidder. If no eligible group comes forward, the owner can proceed with a sale after that period.
If an eligible group does register an interest, the full moratorium runs for six months from the owner’s original notification, taking the timetable to 22 March 2027. The purpose is to give the group time to organise, raise finance, carry out due diligence and make an offer.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s official Community Right to Bid guidance is clear about the limit of the protection: it is not a right of first refusal. The owner remains free to reject a community bid, even if it is the only offer or is financially higher than another.
The same guidance says eligible bidders can include a charity, a non-profit company limited by guarantee, a co-operative or community benefit society, or a community interest company with a local connection. A loose group of individual residents would therefore need to check that it has, or can work through, a qualifying legal structure.
Why the Montreal Arms matters locally
The council formally confirmed the former pub as an Asset of Community Value after successfully defending the listing in 2023. Its account of the tribunal decision said the Montreal Arms had furthered local social wellbeing before closing in 2020 and could realistically have a community use again.
The building is also on Brighton and Hove’s local heritage list. The council’s heritage entry identifies its green-tiled frontage as a surviving example of the regional style used by Portsmouth and Brighton United Breweries and says the corner building contributes strongly to the Hanover streetscape.
Planning history complicates the picture. In June 2024 the council approved works to renovate and extend the pub while retaining pub use and ancillary accommodation. A separate proposal to change the building to commercial use was refused. The current sale notice does not itself establish what a future purchaser would do with the site, and the existing planning and heritage controls do not guarantee that a reopened pub will be financially viable.
What community groups should do
- Act before 3 November. Do not treat the six-month date as the first deadline. The longer moratorium only begins if an eligible group declares its intention during the initial six-week window.
- Check eligibility. Compare the organisation’s legal form and local connection with the council’s published criteria.
- Contact the council in writing. Use the Community Right to Bid page and quote the Montreal Arms, 62 Albion Hill, BN2 9NX, the 23 September disposal notice and the 3 November deadline. If the correct receiving address is unclear, contact the council on 01273 290000 and ask for the team administering Assets of Community Value.
- Prepare for due diligence. A serious bid would need a purchase budget, survey and repair assumptions, legal advice, a business plan and evidence that the proposed use can cover ongoing costs.
The previous marketing exercise sought offers above £425,000, but that figure was attached to an earlier listing and should not be presented as the current price. Brighton and Hove News reported that no new listing was visible on the main commercial property portals when it checked.
Brighton Locals’ view
Our judgement: the community-value rules are doing exactly what they were designed to do by creating breathing space before a significant local building changes hands. The 3 November deadline is useful protection only if eligible groups know about it and can organise quickly.
But the process should not be romanticised. Six months can help a credible group assemble a bid; it cannot erase the costs of buying and repairing a long-closed building or compel the owner to sell to the community. Any campaign should publish realistic figures and a sustainable operating plan rather than rely on goodwill alone.
What to watch next
- Whether the council confirms that an eligible expression of interest has been received by 3 November.
- Whether a current sales listing appears, with an asking price and particulars.
- Any survey evidence about the building’s condition and likely repair costs.
- The proposed use, funding plan and governance of any community bid.
- Whether the owner completes a sale before the ACV listing is due for review in 2027.
Bottom line
The Montreal Arms is not automatically saved for community use, but Hanover now has a defined chance to test whether a credible community purchase is possible. The first and most important date is 3 November 2026.
Featured image: the former Montreal Arms in August 2023. Photo by Hassocks5489 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0.
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