Future of historic city pub in Birmingham secured by local Irish landlord
The Anchor Digbeth – a Victorian pub located in Birmingham's Irish Quarter – has been closed for nearly three months, but will reopen next month under a new operator.
Peter Connolly, who runs nearby bar and music venue Nortons Digbeth, has taken on the late-19th century Rea Street pub, pledging to 'restore the city gem'.
New landlord of The Anchor Digbeth Peter Connolly (Pic: Dave Henderson)
'It's a great honour to take on The Anchor; a legendary pub which has always held a special place in my heart,' he said this week.
'I sampled my first proper cask ale in the Anchor many years ago and have used it regularly to meet family and friends, and with our staff on industry nights.'
He added: 'The Anchor is a hugely significant pub in terms of tradition and heritage. It's a must-visit for cask fans, having won CAMRA pub of the year three times.
'It's a pub with huge community ties, and we appreciate how much the building means to so many people which is why we have now started work to restore the Anchor to its original glory."
Owner and former licensee of The Anchor Gerry Keane (Pic: Dave Henderson)
The Anchor, which is a Grade II listed building, was designed by James and Lister Lea.
It claims to be one of the oldest continuous public house licences in Birmingham, dating back to 1797.
Mr Connolly plans to revive the building's original interior and exterior features including the original bar fittings, pincushion leather bench seating and brass fixtures.
The renovation will also introduce new elements, alongside revitalising The Anchor's original snug and lounge bars.
Gerry Keane, who is the current owner of the pub, said he is looking forward to the changes Mr Connolly has planned for the venue.
'Peter shares my love for this very special building, as well as an ambition to restore it and see it secure its place as a jewel of the Irish Quarter,' he said.
'I look forward to seeing The Anchor Digbeth develop over the coming months and years.'
'We thank Julian Rose-Gibbs for taking charge of The Anchor for the last eight years.'
Located in Rea Street, Digbeth, over the years the pub has become a popular venue for craft and real ale fans, and many artists from the city's cultural and creative communities.
See More: Birmingham, Digbeth, Peter Connolly, The Anchor
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
34 minutes ago
- Irish Times
State set to devote extra funds to big projects, but where is the money coming from?
When the Government publishes its key economic documents on Tuesday, the natural focus will be on where the extra investment is being targeted. A key question involves additional resources being devoted to projects in housing, water, energy and transport in the revised National Development Plan. What will this mean for other parts of the budget and where is the money going to come from? We should get some clue from the second major document, the Summer Economic Statement (SES), which looks at the outlook for the budget. Here, the key question is whether extra spending has left less room for day-to-day supports and tax reductions to be factored into the budget. The SES will give some indication of room for manoeuvre in the budget – in other words, what the package on the day will cost. The budget ministers, Paschal Donohoe and Jack Chambers , are likely to indicate that less money is available this year. READ MORE David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 They are also likely to repeat the assertion that there is no cost-of-living package this year. How both of these commitments survive the run-up to the actual budget remains to be seen. A key issue to watch for concerns budget overruns and whether the Government is going to take action to stop them happening this year. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, the budget watchdog, has said that the spending allocations for this year were flawed from day one, because they failed to build in overruns in 2024. With the council estimating overruns of €2 billion-plus this year, does the Cabinet plan to rein these in? And what does it mean for 2026? The goal of keeping spending growth to 5 per cent a year, set in 2021, was quickly consigned to the dustbin. So, what will now replace it? Or is it just a case of spending whatever cash is available every year?
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Irish unit of BOC Aviation records $243m profit after nine-figure insurance payout over detained Russian aircraft
New accounts filed by Dublin-based BOC Aviation (Ireland) Ltd show the pre-tax profits of $243.3m for 2024 are 21pc down on pre-tax profits of $308.19m in 2023. The $158m paid out in insurance payouts last year followed $258m paid out in 2023 under the same heading. Total revenues and other income decreased by 7pc to $660.4m in 2024 from $710.6m in 2023. The 2024 revenues included lease revenues of $374.25m. The directors said the decline is mainly due to lower insurance settlements in respect of aircraft owned by the company and formerly leased to Russian airlines which were detained in Russia. 'The company is continuing to pursue insurance claims in respect of aircraft currently or formerly detained in Russia,' the directors added. The firm saw a return to growth across the industry with traffic recovering in 2024 to near-2019 levels. The Irish unit is a wholly owned subsidiary of BOC Aviation Limited, which is a public company incorporated in Singapore and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The insurance settlement concerning the 15 aircraft coincided with the company's professional fee costs increasing by 59pc, from $7.98m to $12.69m. At the end of last December, the company had a total of 111 owned and 31 managed aircraft. ADVERTISEMENT The company recorded a post-tax profit of $206.7m after incurring a corporation tax charge of $36.6m. The pre-tax profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of $166.24m and finance costs of $181.3m. The firm last year recorded profits of $22.4m from $211.92m realised from the sale of aircraft. The firm employs 11 people in Ireland and staff costs last year increased by 69pc from $3.16m to $5.33m. Directors' pay last year totalled $963,000, which included emoluments of $731,000. The firm's cash funds last year increased from $119.65m to $151.16m. The business paid out no dividend last year. The directors said total assets were stable year-on-year, at $5.39bn at December 31, 2024, compared with $5.38bn a year earlier.
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Profits at Harvey Norman's Irish arm fall by 23pc to €10m
New accounts show that the profits decreased at Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd as revenues increased slightly from €424.07m to €425.06m for the 12 months to the end of June 2024. The directors said revenues increased by 0.2pc last year but they point out that when compared with pre-pandemic sales of €236m in the 2019 financial year, there has been significant growth of €189m, or 79.96pc, over that time. 'During this period the brand has gone from strength to strength and has significantly grown market share in all its categories,' the directors said. The 2024 financial year is the seventh straight year of profitability for the Irish business. 'The supply chain and transportation costs which hampered the business in the previous year have decreased and returned to acceptable levels, and improvements in margins in the furniture business has started,' according to the directors. They expect these improvements to continue in the next 12 months. At the end of last June, the group operated 16 stores in the Republic and two in the North. Profits were hit by a non-cash €1.73m writedown on its investment property portfolio and interest charges of €1.32m. The group recorded post-tax profits of €8.19m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €1.9m. The directors said the group recognises the economic headwinds that were present during FY24 will persist into FY25, but inflation has started to fall 'and we expect that to continue throughout the next 12 months'. Administrative expenses for last year were inclusive of intercompany brand licensing fees payable under a revised global transfer policy adopted this year. ADVERTISEMENT Directors state the profitability of the Irish group was reduced by €6.87m last year due to the brand licence fees payable under this policy. Operating expenses increased last year with marketing, warehousing and distribution increasing year on year. The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €5.49m, while lease costs decreased from €16.3m to €16.05m. Staff costs increased from €56.5m to €58m as staff numbers dipped from 1,438 to 1,433. Directors' pay including pension payments of €17,500 totalled €677,759. The directors state that 'the group also settled matters relating to an uncertain tax position arising from an Irish Revenue tax review for Harvey Norman Tallaght Ltd'. In 2023, the group valued the uncertain tax provision at €218,081 and a note states that the matter giving rise to this uncertain provision was settled subsequent to year end, and the provision has been reversed. In calculating the group's overall corporation tax liability, the accounts included a tax settlement adjustment of €187,277. At the end of June 2024, the group had shareholder funds of €71.89m. Cash funds increased from €8.43m to €13m.
