Shakespeare pub owner in administration
A SMALL pub company, owner of one of Manchester’s most oldest drinking haunts, The Shakespeare, has gone into administration.
Clover Taverns, which has sites in Yorkshire and the West Midlands as well as in Manchester – where its registered office is listed as Fountain Street – is now in the hands of Duff & Phelps.
The 10 pubs in the estate will continue to trade while a buyer is sought. Duff & Phelps said Clover had been hit by a fall in customer numbers and consequently trade.
Joint administrator john Whitfield said: ““It has been well publicised that consumers discretionary spending has reduced and inevitably, the leisure sector has seen the impact of this.
“Under the current economic climate, the downturn in trade has exacerbated cashflow demands. With the support of the brewery, the 10 public houses will continue to trade under the supervision of the administrators. We are confident that there will be a significant amount of interest.”
As well as The Shakespeare – which moved brick-by-brick from Chester to Manchester in the 1920s – Clover owns The Old Black Bull in Preston city centre and the Woodside in Cheshire.
