Hellfire Entertainment plans to take over a former Star Pubs & Bars venue, which has had several other guises in its 171-year history, including an opera hall, theatre, cinema and nightclub.
Ian Snowball, company co-founder, said he believes the freehouse pub, to be renamed the Colosseum, will be the largest in the UK.
The site is currently 11,000sq ft, with the company in the process of putting in a third floor, at 6,000sq ft, and a roof terrace, at 6,500sq ft.
At the end of June, JD Wetherspoon said it would be opening “probably” the biggest pub in the UK in August – at almost 10,500sq ft.
New concept
Snowball said the Colosseum is part of a “very big project that has taken several years to put together”.
“This is a new concept, with many unusual parts and as it is so large we are doing a phased rollout,” he said.
The plan is to open the first part of the pub by October, followed by its attached nightclub in six months’ time.
Following that, a downstairs bar will be opened this time next year, with the roof terrace of the pub finally opening in 18 months’ time.
Not only does Snowball believe the pub can beat Wetherspoon’s claim to having the largest UK pub, he said his venue will have one of the “biggest bass speakers in the world”, built into the ceiling above the main bar.
- Do you think you can beat that? If so, contact georgina.townshend@wrbm.com