Only pub in village is closed after falling victim to double whammy of cost of living pressures
A border village's single surviving pub has fallen victim to a double whammy from the cost of living crisis.
The White Horse at Overton, near Ellesmere, and seven miles from Wrexham, has closed its doors until either a new freehold owner or pub landlord can be found.
It is also on the property market as the current owner, Market Drayton-based Joule's Brewery, says it is willing to consider "alternative uses".
The White Horse was refurbished by Joules in 2009 and won the prestigious national design award for best refurbishment from the Campaign For Real Ale.
For the last six months Oswestry landlord Mick Burton, of The Fox, has been running both pubs but he has had to concentrate on the town establishment. The brewery has thanked Mr Burton for his help in keeping the pub going.
Joule's has confirmed that the White Horse had been squeezed from two directions - rising costs and customers spending less.
Rachel Hacket, the brewery's operations manager said: "We have been looking for a new permanent landlord for over a year, I am incredibly grateful to our long-standing friend Mick Burton who has kept the pub ticking over for these last six months, sadly he has had to go back to his own pub, The Fox in Oswestry, to manage that. "
She added that these are "very difficult trading times indeed for village pubs".
"The increase in costs which pubs have had to wrestle with have made most of the smaller, lower turnover pubs unviable," she said.
"The costs of utilities is the main factor, but we also have increases in the minimum wage and increases from suppliers both food supplies but also beer supplies, where brewers have themselves been hit with rising utilities costs."
And on the other side of the equation, Ms Hacket said: "In turn our customers are also going out less often, as they also have to meet the same costs of living increases. In a small village when pubs depend on just local trade, it’s just not viable to keep going.
"The cost are much harder to manage for small pubs where the costs of opening the pub are a much higher proportion of the sales. It is really hard to see how pubs in small villages will be able to make a pub work. The White Horse is another one of many which has had to close the doors for the time being at least."
Some time ago, the brewery announced the White Horse was for sale and it has been on the market with Matthew Phillips Surveyors who are seeking to let or sell the pub, either tied or free of tie.
The brewery says it is keen to speak to any interested parties, for pub or alternative use.
If there is interest for pub use then finance is also available to assist any purchaser subject to a satisfactory deposit.
All enquiries should be made to Matthew at [email protected].
The property agents say it is an "unopposed pub in a sought after village" and provides an opportunity for a successful village freehouse with food. Overton is described as an affluent village with a population of about 1,300.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.