Campaign to save Caledonia pub receives boost from Admiral Taverns

The pubco had initially planned to sell the lease of the Caledonia outright to an unnamed local property developer, meaning the pub was due to close next Tuesday (28 May).

However, following efforts from the Campaign for Real Ale and leading Liverpool councillors to save the pub, the new owner has worked with Admiral to change the terms of the sale.

After claiming she was given no advance warning of the sale, lessee Laura King now hopes she can continue at the Catharine Street pub. “Negotiations are still slightly delicate, but the new owners have agreed in principle to continue with a retail unit on the ground floor.

“The new owners appear to be reasonable people. They have witnessed the strength of feeling that the pub’s potential closure has generated, and they want the business to succeed.”

King said a plan was still in place to list the pub as an ‘asset of community value’, opening up the possibility of local community groups making a bid for the building.

She added that she was disappointed by the way Admiral has handled the sale. “There has been a lot of development in this area lately and I sought clarification over the pub’s future, but never received anything back.”

Admiral Taverns managing director Kevin Georgel said that after seven years of considerable financial investment and support for the Caledonia, the company felt it right relinquish ownership.

“We would like to reassure people that this has not been easy – we understand the concern this has caused and we would like to apologise to anyone that feels let down by the decision.”