It is passed by thousands of drivers every day on the M32 but has been empty for eight years
Businessman Tariq Muhammad with the former Merchants Arms pub in Eastville(Image: Invatech)
A businessman has unveiled plans to move the headquarters of his health tech company to an empty pub building in Stapleton, and said he wants to double the size of the company in the next few years.
Tariq Muhammad is the boss of Invatech Health, which employs around 50 people and is currently based in Stapleton Road in Easton.
Now the businessman, who also plans to create a new block of flats at the end of East Street in Bedminster, has presented plans for the old Merchants Arms pub to the community on the edge of Eastville and Stapleton.
More than 30 local residents, including ward councillor Lorraine Francis (Green, Eastville) attended the public meeting at Stapleton Church Hall last week, where Mr Muhammad presented his plans.
The large pub building is on a big site in the shadow of the M32 flyover on the corner of Averay Road and Bell Hill. It closed as a pub in 2016, and has lain empty and unused ever since.
Mr Muhammad wants to convert the building with a ‘stylish new facade’, and the inside converted into ‘eco-offices’ alongside a community coffee shop and nine flats.
His firm Invatech Health is currently based three-quarters of a mile further down the M32, on Stapleton Road in Easton. He said the firm has grown rapidly since its latest product was launched five years ago and now employs 50 staff.
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Mr Muhammad said he bought the Merchants Arms three years ago. “It’s time to do something positive with the building, and I’m excited about breathing new life into this corner of Stapleton,” he said.
“As well as becoming our new head offices I want the building to become a cornerstone of the community, with an independently run café where people can come and meet.
“For Invatech, we are rapidly outgrowing our current site and, rather than moving to a business park or somewhere in the city centre, I want to remain in the community and provide jobs for local people.
“I’m expecting us to grow from 50 to 100 staff over the next few years and they deserve a hi-tech centre where we can maximise our innovations, show them off to customers and stakeholders, and put Eastville on the map in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship,” he added.
“We’ve already been a catalyst for positive change in Stapleton Road, creating an area around our current offices which is popular with young families. Now I’d like to do the same thing in this part of town, creating a stunning new building which the community can be proud of,” he added.
The Merchants Arms, next to the M32 in Stapleton, pictured in 2016, just before it closed(Image: Google Maps)
Mr Muhammad is also behind the plans to create around 60 ‘co-living’ homes in a six-storey building above what was the HSBC bank on the corner of East Street and Cannon Street in Bedminster.
The plans also include a move and expansion for a local dentist surgery, and also takes in what is currently the site of Bedminster Pharmacy and also an empty William Hill bookmakers.
Bristol Live first unveiled the plans back in June 2023, and the expansion of a new health hub in March 2024. Councillors gave that scheme planning permission in September last year, and Mr Muhammad said work on that development won’t begin now until next year.
The scheme for the old Merchants pub has been backed by Cllr Francis. “Over the years this building has become something of an eyesore – not viable as a pub and with no practical scheme for the development of the site,” she said.
“So I’m delighted to hear Tariq’s plans to create a location for new jobs, the relocation of a successful business and a feature which the whole community can enjoy,” she added.
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