Atrium Bars in administration

21 July 2015 by Neil Gerrard

One of the two pubs that made up in-administration Atrium Bars has been sold, while the other is still on the market.

Fairway Investments P.P.C, which traded as Atrium Bars running two pubs in Nottingham and Lincolnshire, entered administration last month.

Chris Stirland, partner and Nathan Jones, director at FRP Advisory, were appointed joint administrators of the business after a downturn in trading put unsustainable pressure on the company under its current financial structure.

The joint administrators sold the business and assets of the Atrium at 69 Castle Gate in Newark, Nottinghamshire, on 12 June 2015 with the leasehold pub now operated by new tenants, ensuring continuous trading and securing the jobs of all the pub's 15 staff.

The joint administrators continue to market for sale the Atrium, a freehold pub at 7 the High Street in Grantham, Lincolnshire, which continues to trade as normal. The Atrium in Grantham employs 25 members of staff.

In addition to struggling with the smoking ban, Fairview Investments had high levels of debt to service, taken on to fund acquisitions of property-based assets in the pubs business which have yet to recover the capital values eroded since the financial crisis of 2008-10. A combination of declining turnover and margins coupled with a fall in capital values meant the business could not refinance under its current financial structure, according to FRP.

Nathan Jones, joint administrator and director at FRP Advisory, said: "We are delighted to have secured new owners for the Atrium in Newark to ensure this popular high street pub can continue to serve the array of drinks, quality food and all the regular club nights its loyal customer base expects, and securing the jobs of 15 local jobs in the process.

"We continue to market for sale the Atrium in Grantham which trades as normal under the direction of an experienced hospitality management firm, installed since our appointment, to ensure that the customer remains at the heart of everything this fine freehold pub has to offer, from a good selection of ales and wine to the Sunday roasts or quiz nights that regularly draw in a full-house across the generations both locally and further afield across Lincolnshire. We invite interested parties to make contact."

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