Pub landlords 'heartbroken' to be calling last orders after eight years

Nick Holden and Kate Ahrens have run The Geese and Fountains, at Croxton Kerrial, for eight years, but say they have struggled to build the business since the pandemic led to pubs having to close for long periods of times.

They say they asked landlords, the Wellington Pub Company, for a ‘significant rent reduction’ for the time the pub was unable to open during the Covid restrictions.

But a government arbitration process has now decided that Nick and Kate must pay the rent arrears accrued, which they say is over £70,000.

They cannot afford that at £3,000 a month over two years – on top of the ongoing rent of £5,000 every month, £12,000 monthly staff wages and £3,000 a month for electricity.

Nick and Kate said in a joint-statement: “To say we are devastated is an understatement.

“The Geese and Fountain has been our home, our business, our whole lives, for the past eight years.

“We have poured thousands of pounds of our own money, and that of our families, into this place, because we loved it, and we wanted it to succeed.

“We have both worked over 100 hours many weeks, and our children have grown up involved and worked – often unpaid – to help us.

“We have met many lovely, lovely people – as staff, as customers and as suppliers.

“But another fight with Wellington, coming on top of three of the most difficult years in the pub trade and with rising energy costs and inflation running rampant, is one we cannot hope to win. We have to accept defeat.”

Nick and Kate say they cannot afford to challenge the arbitration verdict in the High Court so they have no other options but to close.

They plan to cease trading at the pub on Monday June 5.

Their statement continues: “We are so very sorry. To our staff, who will be losing their jobs. To our suppliers, who will be losing a customer. And to the community of Croxton Kerrial, and all of you in the ‘Geese and Fountain family’, who will be losing your pub.

"For you, as for ourselves, we are heartbroken.

“We hope to be able to trade throughout the remainder of May and have identified our Monday pub quiz on June 5 as the likely last day of the Geese and Fountain. We very much hope to see as many of you as possible either then or in the days before.”

They add: “If there is a way for Croxton Kerrial and the surrounding area to keep a pub going in the village then we would do anything we can to support that aim – we would only say that running this pub as a commercial business while paying the extortionate rents that we have been asked to pay by Wellington is in our view no longer possible, if indeed it ever was.

“We can’t say we have loved every minute of the last eight years but there have been many, many wonderful memories created here and we will treasure those moments for the rest of our lives.”