Latest news with #pubclosure
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pubs close suddenly after parent company folds
The Navigation Inn, Lapworth, Warwickshire, announced its closure on Facebook on Monday [Google] Two West Midlands pubs have shut suddenly after their parent company went into administration on Monday. The George in Ludlow, Shropshire, and the Navigation Inn in Lapworth, Warwickshire, made the announcements on Facebook. Oakman Inns, based in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, operated across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the Midlands. PwC, its administrators, confirmed "six operational sites" had closed with the loss of 159 jobs. The George and the Navigation Inn posted identical statements to their websites and social media pages. "Following the appointment of the Joint Administrators on Monday 21st July 2025 this site has ceased to trade and is now closed," it read. ADVERTISEMENT "Ross Connock, Mark James Tobias Banfield and Tom Crookham have been appointed as joint administrators of Oakman Inns and Restaurants Limited and Oakman Dev Limited to manage their affairs, business and property as their agents and without personal liability." The statements directed the public to the PwC website. The administrators said challenging conditions, such as the Covid pandemic which led to closures and "restricted trading", meant the company had to take out "additional borrowings to stabilise the business and preserve its operational footprint". PwC added it had sold one "freehold property and 13 leasehold sites to Upham Group Limited", which had secured 531 jobs. This included The Beech House, Solihull, and The Four Alls, Welford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. Council 'saddened' by closure Lapworth Parish Council said it was "saddened" about the closure of the Navigation Inn. ADVERTISEMENT "For centuries it has been a lively part of village life as a popular venue with its large canal side pub garden and restaurant," it said. "We appreciate that many pubs are struggling with increased costs at the same time as customers have reduced spending power but it is to be hoped that a new owner can be found to revitalise it as soon as possible." In a post on social media, a member of staff from The George said: "A big thank you to all of Ludlow. To everyone who supported us and made us smile. It's unfortunate that we've had to close, but we're truly grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More on this story Related internet links
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Pub must close after stolen goods were sold on premises
A Merthyr Tydfil pub will have to close after having its licence revoked because of stolen goods being sold outside the premises. South Wales Police called for a licence review of the Wyndham Arms in Glebeland Street. The council's licensing committee has decided to revoke the licence meaning it will close. It follows an incident at the premises on March 22 when stolen meat and other items were purchased from a known shoplifter by Kevin Jones who is the premises licence-holder and designated premises supervisor. At a later police interview Kevin Jones admitted knowingly buying stolen goods and was cautioned for this offence on May 20, the decision notice said. The committee saw a police warning letter sent to Kevin Jones on October 20 referring to 'continuous' criminal activity (retail theft) linked to the premises and the committee heard further details of the past and current problems associated with shoplifting sales at the premises from the police at the meeting. The committee accepted the police's evidence that for some considerable time going back a number of years the Wyndham Arms had been central to the on-going shoplifting blight on local retailers on the basis that shoplifters regularly took stolen items to the premises to sell to patrons. Evidence was given by PC Steve Moseley confirming the efforts the police had made to work with Kevin Jones with the aim of breaking this chain of criminality. But the decision notice said that Kevin Jones had acted in a 'polar opposite way' and had by his actions actively promoted crime when he purchased stolen goods and failed to take any effective steps to stop others buying and selling stolen goods at the premises. PC Moseley also provided evidence of two other recorded incidents of stolen goods being sold to patrons of the Wyndham at the pub. To get all the latest Merthyr Tydfil news straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here. These took place on May 13, a week after the review application was submitted, and on June 17, a month after receiving his formal caution. Kevin Jones denied there had been any further problems at the premises and explained the efforts he had made to stop the sale of shop lifted goods at the premises. But the committee accepted the police evidence and found that the efforts Kevin Jones maintained that he had made to address the issues at the premises were insufficient to deal with the ongoing breach of the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective. This led the committee to conclude that either 'at best Kevin Jones was unable to control what went on at his premises or at worst he did not care'. Either way his actions were 'not ones that led the sub-committee to believe that Kevin Jones was able to bring about a positive change at the premises.' The committee agreed with the police that the actions of Kevin Jones were such that they had no faith in him addressing the shoplifting criminality linked to the premises and were satisfied that whilst Kevin Jones remained the premises-licence holder and designated premises supervisor of the premises the Wyndham Arms would 'continue to be a focal point for the sale of stolen goods'. It was confirmed that the outside of the premises had adequate cover from CCTV but there were 'blind' areas inside the premises which had not been addressed by Kevin Jones despite the same having been highlighted to him by the police. The police said adding conditions to the premises licence would not ensure compliance with the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective and sergeant Andy Jones commented that 'target-hardening' would not work to address the licensing breaches. The premises licence-holder did not suggest any additional conditions and confirmed when questioned that he had not put up notices at the premises to say that the sale of shoplifted goods at the premises would not be tolerated despite this step having been recommended to him in the police warning letter in October 2024. An option available to the committee was to remove the designated premises supervisor (DPS) but this was not considered appropriate because Kevin Jones was both DPS and premises licence-holder and while he remained premises licence-holder he would continue to be the controlling mind behind how the premises was run. The committee considered the submissions in writing from Kevin and Ryan Jones but were not able to take the personal circumstances of Kevin Jones into account as a 'defence' to breaching the licensing objectives. The decision notice said: 'The licensing sub-committee's duty after considering all relevant evidence was to take steps with a view to the promotion of the licensing objectives in the interests of the wider community and not those of the licence-holder.' The committee were of the view that the only effective, proportionate, and appropriate way of ensuring the prevention of crime and disorder licensing principle was not breached was for the chain of criminality from the theft in the shop to the sale to patrons at the premises to be broken and to do that it was proportionate to revoke the premises licence and for the premises to close. The committee considered suspending the premises licence for a period up to three months but decided that this was not appropriate and that it was highly likely that if the premises re-opened after a period of suspension with Kevin Jones remaining as the premises licence-holder the sale of shoplifted goods at the premises would restart and the licensing objective would again be breached. The committee were given evidence of the damage shoplifting is having on the retail community of Merthyr Tydfil and how this affects the general public and the committee were not prepared to take the risk of licencing breaches at the premises restarting after a period of suspension. READ MORE: The DWP benefits and payments only available to people over State Pension age
The Sun
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Wetherspoons to close city centre pub after 30 years as sad punters say ‘it's the end of an era'
WETHERSPOONS are set to close a city centre pub after 30 years. Punters were left gutted after hearing that the fan favourite boozer in Preston, would be going on the market. 2 2 The Grey Friar, which opened in the 1990s, has now been put up for sale, announced Wetherspoon. The popular Spoons boozer was a staple of the local area and will remain open until sold. A spokesperson said that it will remain trading as a Wetherspoon pub until it is sold and that there will be no redundancies made. He added that, when the establishment is sold, staff will be offered jobs at other pubs in the chain. The Grey Friar was named after Franciscan monks, who founded a nearby friary in the early 13th century. This is also the namesake of Friargate, the street on which the boozer stands. Thankfully for Wetherspoons fans, there is another branch in the city centre, the Twelve Tellers on Church Street. But locals were still devastated by the move with many losing their favourite boozer in town, commonly known as 'Greyfriars' to many. Many took to social media to weigh in with their opinions after the closure was announced. One wrote: "Happy memories starting our Friday nights in Greyfriars… it will be missed!!" Another said: "Oh my goodness! Me and my bf often start an evening out in here, have tea and move on from here into town. "We sometimes go for breakfast too." Inside Wetherspoons huge new pub - it's a hidden gem 'off the beaten track' and has a major pricing difference A third commented: "Flipping heck if Wetherspoons is closing …. Preston reallly is doomed." Another wrote: "There will be many dissapointed customers." It comes as a wave of closures have hit UK pubs recently, figures published by the British Beer and Pub Association revealed around six pubs closed every week. The trade body found 289 boozers served last orders for the final time in 2024 across England and Wales. The data, released in April, suggested that with the closure of six boozers a week came the loss of 4,500 jobs. With employer National Insurance contributions being hiked with the minimum wage, more pubs are expected to shut this year too. To cope with the increased running costs pubs are forced to increase their prices. Wetherspoon also exclusively revealed to The Sun in January it had increased the price of a host of drinks and meal deals by up to 30p. Prices on drinks were hiked by 15p, while meal deals were increased by 30p. Wetherspoons said a number of drinks, though, had not gone up in price including all draught lagers like Budweiser, Carling and Coors. Boss Tim Martin said the pub chain had "tried to remain as competitive as possible" with its pricing. How can I save money at Wetherspoons? FREE refills - Buy a £1.50 tea, coffee or hot chocolate and you can get free refills. The deal is available all day, every day. Check a map - Prices can vary from one location the next, even those close to each other. So if you're planning a pint at a Spoons, it's worth popping in nearby pubs to see if you're settling in at the cheapest. Choose your day - Each night the pub chain runs certain food theme nights. For instance, every Thursday night is curry club, where diners can get a main meal and a drink for a set price cheaper than usual. Pick-up vouchers - Students can often pick up voucher books in their local near universities, which offer discounts on food and drink, so keep your eyes peeled. Get appy - The Wetherspoons app allows you to order and pay for your drink and food from your table - but you don't need to be in the pub to use it. Taking full advantage of this, cheeky customers have used social media to ask their friends and family to order them drinks. The app is free to download on the App Store or Google Play. Check the date - Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry. It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14. As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every Autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'We're not getting enough people through the door': Village pub closes
A village pub has closed less than a year after being taken under new management. Ben's at The Legion in Blackrod posted on social media that it had closed with "immediate effect" this week. The former Heroes of Blackrod, on Manchester Road, was taken over by husband and wife Ben and Nikki Haydock in October 2024. The post states: "It's with great regret that we have to announce that Bens at The Legion has closed permanently with immediate effect. More: 'Lovely' pub that's opened in former home of Coronation Street's Rovers Return More: Bolton restaurant to be closed for the day - as 9,000 staff prepare to party More: Closed town centre bar hopes for 'light at the end of the tunnel' with new venue "We've ploughed a ridiculous amount of time, effort and money into the venue but unfortunately, we're just not getting enough people through the door for the business to be viable. (Image: Ben Haydock) "We would like to say a huge thank you to all our staff for their hard work and dedication and also express my gratitude to all of our customers for your support during our brief stay. "If you got a taste for our ale you're more than welcome to visit us at Ben's Tap & Bottle Shop where we also have a great selection of craft cans and even more on our website (Image: Ben's Brewery) "To be frank it doesn't feel great to be yet another of the growing numbers of pubs closing but we'll dust ourselves down and crack on. "Thank you for some good memories Blackrod and all the best for the future." The building was formerly the Blackrod Royal British Legion Club before closing its doors in August 2012. The family's microbrewery, Ben's Tap and Bottle Shop, remains open in Chorley town centre. The Bolton News attempted to contact the pub's management, but they had no further comment to make. In 2024, close to 300 pubs closed down across England and Wales — a rate of around six per week — according to the latest figures from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). The association, which represents more than 20,000 establishments, revealed that 289 pubs shut over the past year, leading to the loss of over 4,500 jobs.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Trade is so bad': Pub could be closed within months
A VILLAGE pub could be closed within months, with the landlord saying "trade is so bad." Matt Clarke, who runs the Fox & Hounds at Lulsley, has put the pub up for sale and applied for planning permission to convert it into housing. If approved, the pub could be turned into six flats and three further homes could be built on the site. Mr Clarke said the decision has caused "a rift" with villagers but that challenges facing the hospitality industry have hit the pub hard. READ MORE: Pair in their 60s arrested after alleged assault near supermarket READ MORE: Emergency services called to M5 bridge crash READ MORE: Speeding drivers through village targeted by police "Unfortunately, the pub's really struggling so we're trying to sell and we've put in for planning permission as well," he said. "It's caused a bit of a rift with the community but trade is so bad. "The hospitality trade is on its knees, the staff costs have gone through the roof, minimum wage has gone up and utilities are really expensive so it's been hard." Speaking to the Worcester News at the pub's dog show, he said the annual event would normally require more staff but that this year, they were down to just three. "The dog show is a boost to keep us going a bit longer," he said. "There's just three of us working today, rather than seven years ago, we'd have five or six people." The pub is being listed for sale by estate agents Sidney Phillips, with an asking price of £495,000 for the freehold. According to the planning application, the pub went to auction on March 26 but did not sell. It said the applicants had asked Sidney Phillips to continue listing the property while they continue alternative uses, such as the application to turn it into homes. "Within the next two or three months, we'll probably be shut," Mr Clarke said. "It can't be helped. We're trying everything we can."
