Pub owners Chris and Debbie Salter have expanded their hospitality business by splashing out £725,000 on the Stile Bridge pub and restaurant in Marden.

The couple are already co-owners of the Poet at Matfield, near Tunbridge Wells.

The 100-plus cover restaurant and bar was previously owned by Lynda Desmarais who had not reopened the business after the first Covid lockdown.

She said: "While I’ve enjoyed running the bar and restaurant, my other business interests in the region have grown and my attention has been focused elsewhere.

"When the pandemic started it gave me an opportunity to reassess my priorities and I decided that I no longer wanted to divide my attention with Stile Bridge, and thought that it was right that someone else had the opportunity to make it their own.”

It was sold by Colliers.

Chris Salter added: “We are looking forward to firming up our plans for the place, and making it a new destination for the area.”

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