Buying a pub?

1. You need to get an alchohol license to sell off and on the premises – pretty straightforward, there are quite a few courses you can go on – it'll only take a matter of weeks.

2. Don't 'BUY' a pub – because you'll be buying the freehold of the building as well and it's very expensive.
'LEASE' a pub, this can be done very cheaply/

3. Check out this website http://www.fleurets.com they sell/lease pubs.

4. Go for a pub with a good food trade as well, if you go for a 'wet' only pub (most of the sales come from drinks) then you will struggle to attract new customer and your margins will be lower.

Edit.
GOOD pubs aren't closing daily.
As a long time pub goer myself, I have seen dozens of pubs almost go to the wall because they were managed by miserable sods who has no idea what a pub is all about, and then a new energetic landlord comes in with some good ideas, decorates the place, starts doing good food, introduces quiz nights, introduces Karaoke, gets live singers in, gets sky in for the football and before long, you've got a packed pub most nights of the week.

Get to know your regulars, find out their names, treat them like royalty, remember the beer they drink and you won't go wrong.

It is a bad time to buy a pub if you are relying on the the sale of alcohol alone. I believe that a good pub that provides excellent food at a reasonable price can still make money. You need plenty of capital to buy and set up a pub and be careful if you are renting one from a brewery. Pubs are closing daily.

Try buying a lease of a pub first and working at that. But really a Business minded person would be better dealing with it. GCSE's don't matter but you will need a personal alcohol license and a premises license for the pub itself. Then there is pub watch meetings to attend, deliveries, staff etc. Its hard work!

Allot of money.Buying a pub is like 3 times the price of an average house in u.k