Historic Battle of Britain boozer under threat as its owners struggle to deal with business debts built up over covid deals
Battling on: the Wattenden Arms in Kenley is widely regarded as one of the best pubs for miles
There are justifiable concerns for the future of the Wattenden Arms on Old Lodge Lane, another old Croydon pub which is facing an existential threat.
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, describes the Kenley pub as “a true ‘country pub’ … popular with walkers”.
News that the current manager is soon to leave prompted the initial expressions of worry from locals, as the owners, Stonegate, seek a new tenant to take on the premises on a five-year lease with £40,000 per year rent (Stonegate reckon the pub can generate a £600,000 annual turnover).
Yet even while that search goes on, the position of Stonegate, the country’s biggest pubs group, appears doomed, with the company issuing a warning that there is no guarantee that it can continue as a going concern as it struggles to refinance £2.2billion.
Roger Protz, the former editor of The Good Beer Guide, described the news this morning as “alarming”.
Stonegate runs the Slug and Lettuce chain and more than 4,000 pubs around Britain – including several in and around Croydon – but has been hard-hit by the tough hospitality market and covid. Having private equity owners, IDR Capital, who are based in the Cayman Islands, is probably not much help.
The company issued a statement this morning saying that it had not yet agreed new loans to replace debt due for repayment in June 2025.
“Since the refinancing plans haven’t been executed, there is an indication that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company and group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Stonegate said.
Flying the flag: the pub served as a mess for RAF Kenley during WWII
At the root of the company’s problems was a freak of bad timing or bad luck, when it bought Enterprise Inns for £1.3billion in 2019, a deal that included £1.7billion of debt that was concluded on the eve of the covid lockdowns.
“The sector’s travails, coupled with the high interest rate environment, is understood to have made it far harder for major hospitality players such as Stonegate to refinance their debts,” a report in the Grauniad said.
In an irony that won’t have escaped Croydon pub-goers, an arts event at the weekend looking at the long, slow death of the London pub, (Pub)lic House, was staged in The Cricketers on Addiscombe Road, a closed pub that has had a mixed past few years, and is owned by Stonegate…
So while the fate of the Wattenden Arms is far from sealed, it might take someone of considerable optimism to take up Stonegate on their tenancy offer just at the moment.
Were the Wattenden to close, many would regret its passing. As well as being a good base for local walks, it has huge historic and sentimental value.
Tucked away down a quiet lane the pub oozes charm and character. It was built around 150 years ago, but it was during “their finest hour”, the Battle of Britain in World War II, that the Wattenden earned a touch of glory. The pub was commandeered by the RAF and served as an auxiliary mess for Fighter Command at RAF Kenley, just up then road. That is why it still, on occasion, flies the RAF’s ensign outside its entrance.
Inside the Wattenden, it has many original features, such as decorative ceiling roses and coving, as well as a display case of shotgun cartridges. It even has, unusually, two cellars, the deeper one where the cask ale is stored.
Upstairs, there’s three rooms as accommodation for the management, should they want it. “This is a superb opportunity in a lovely location with everything available to be the busiest pub in the area,” Stonegate say, as the company seeks a new manager/landlord/landlady.
Kenley and Purley residents, and those from further afield, ought to make the most of the Wattenden Arms while they still can.
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I run a pub outside of Croydon, and honestly it is hard. in the last 6 months the only month we didn’t run at a loss was December. The overheads in running a pub are massive and while a turnover of 600k may seem enticing by the time you factor in rent, wages, stock, utilities, vat, tax, rates, the licencing hoops and everything else its barely enough. Plus the fact that people don’t want to spend £6/7 on a pint in the present climate, it is not a career move I would suggest to anyone currently. I do hope though, that they can manage to find someone that deserves the Wattenden, I have very fond memories of stumbling upon or was it out of this place as a youth.
Above-named lovable leftie genius writer and broadcaster Roger Protz NEVER edited the Good Pub Guide, which is nothing to do with Camra, GPG’s a compendium of pubs that has nothing to do with Camra or quality ale. Protz edited many editions of the Good Beer Guide, a Camra compendium of UK breweries of real ale and pubs selling quality real ale as well as authentic cider, from 1978 to 2018 with a few gaps.
Good point well-made, Helen.
The sub-editor has been flogged.
He also wrote a book on cricket which I bought from his stall at the Great British Beer Festival. Never read it – must have been star-struck, or p*****.
I feel a crowd-fund coming on, led by that bon-line champion of real ale – IC!