SHAUN Hill, the man who turned Ludlow into "Gastroville" is putting his Merchant House Restaurant on the market for around £750,000.

He told the Advertiser that he wants bigger premises in the West Midlands, nearer the motorway network and major cities.

"People said I was nuts when I came here," he said. "Now they're saying I'm nuts to want to leave."

When he bought the 15th century timber-framed Merchants House on the banks of the river Corve in 1994, Hill did not realise what a success his restaurant would be. "But a Tuesday in February is just as busy as a Saturday in August," he explained.

"I love Ludlow but we've done as much as we possibly can with the restaurant."

He believes the restaurant is "a victim of its own success".

He said: "When I came to Ludlow I wanted to spend some time on writing and consultancy.It's a small restaurant with only 20 covers, open five nights a week with two lunch times. But we're full more or less the whole year round. We've only got tables left on four evenings in December."

Mr Hill, 57, also wants the space to employ more staff. "In a small restaurant you have to do almost everything yourself," he said.

"This morning I took delivery of 25 crates of wine, which I had to take down to the cellar. Next I'm going to clean the cooker hood.

"I want more time for preparing food and cooking."

His success led to Ludlow holding more Michelin stars than any other British town outside London.

The Merchant House and Chris Bradley's Mr Underhill's have one star each.In January, Claude Bosi's Hibiscus won a second star.

Mr Hill has not decided where he will go next. He has called in estate agency Nock Deighton to sell the Grade II listed Merchant House as a going concern.