Callaghan buys five Yesteryear sites

Tony Callaghan, former owner of Wigan-based Yesteryear Pub Company, is understood to have bought five of the ten sites that were taken over by receivers Begbies Traynor towards the end of last year.

Yesteryear went into administration in December owing the taxman around £300,000. It is the second time in three years that Callaghan has bought Yesteryear sites out of receivership — the last time was around two years ago.

Begbies Traynor kept nine of the company's 10 sites trading after the receivership began — the Yesteryear estate is a combination of freehold and leasehold. 

The day-to-day running of the sites had been undertaken by another of Callaghan's companies.

Begbies Traynor previously indicated that Yesteryear has suffered from "general recessionary factors".

Callaghan said that a drop in trade had hit the business hard and that he had been forced to close four outlets in various parts of the North West towards the end of 2009 but these had been a big drain on Yesteryear.

Callaghan said he had spent millions of his own money keeping the company going prior to its collapse.

The latest filed accounts for the year to August 31, 2008, show a £736,295 loss on sales of £5.2m — down from £6.2m a year earlier.

On the collapse of Yesteryear, Callaghan added: "The trade has not been there for us and we lost a substantial amount of money on the previous years.

"With the recession we have been struggling for two or three years and we have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"I have lost millions of my own money trying to prop it up."