Sheffield pubs: Castle Inn landlord's shock as tenancy terminated 'with immediate effect'
A Sheffield landlord has spoken of his “sadness and anger” after having his tenancy terminated with immediate effect.
Maurice Crookes said he would take legal advice after Stonegate gave him two weeks to remove his effects from the Castle Inn, on Twentywell Road, Bradway, before another manager took over.
Uncertainty now hangs over 14 jobs, he added.
Mr Crookes said the news came in an email out of the blue after a year of running the pub.
He and wife Wendy had taken it on in November last year after a period of closure and it was starting to show the “green shoots” of revival, he said.
They had also spent £70,000 on improvements including a marquee, a new beer garden and new kitchen equipment.
Mr Crookes said he had turned around eight pubs in a 40-year career and it normally took at least 18 months.
In a post on the pub’s Facebook page, which included an image saying ‘trust no one’, he said: “It is with great sadness and anger that we at the Castle have had our tenancy terminated with immediate effect by Stonegate and two weeks to remove our effects.
“This has come with no conversation or any form of communication apart from the email I have received.”
He told The Star: “I’m very annoyed. We spent a lot of money doing things Stonegate wouldn’t do for the comfort of customers.
“We have loved running the Castle, even if only for a year, and we had committed ourselves to this pub and community for what we hoped would be a good few years.”
But he admitted he was £10,000 in arrears on the rent.
Many people had already paid deposits for Christmas meals, including 60 on Christmas Day alone, he added. They could now claim a refund.
Scores of people responded to the Facebook post, with most offering support.
Tracey Martin said: “My heart goes out to you both - it’s so hard running a small business in the first place let alone having no control over what your landlords may do!
“People can clearly see the dedication and passion you've put in and it's appalling that you've been treated this way, you have definitely made a huge difference to the Castle over the last year and above all should be very proud of your achievements.”
Kerry Howkins added: “I'm so sorry to hear this news. We always enjoyed coming and appreciated the effort you put in.”
A spokesperson for Stonegate said: “The tenancy agreement has been terminated as a result of contractual breaches by the tenant.
“The Castle Inn is central to the community and a new tenant will be running the pub from the 26th November. All existing bookings will be honoured.”
Stonegate is the largest pub company in the country with 4,500 managed, leased, and tenanted pubs across the UK.