The Newbury pub, on Bartholomew Street, weathers energy crisis and associated bankruptcy fears with fresh start

The company behind an award-winning gastropub in the heart of Newbury is heading for voluntary liquidation.

Newburytoday revealed on Saturday that company members of The Newbury pub on Bartholomew Street had held a meeting on Monday, August 21, where a resolution was agreed to voluntarily dissolve the company.

But the move is a positive one, says co-director Jamie Allen, and the only way the popular pub could continue trading after being faced with soaring energy costs.

Mr Allen, who also runs The Fox Inn at Hermitage, manages the pub alongside Aaron D'Souza.

Speaking about the change, Mr Allen explained: “We’ve just signed a new five-year deal with Greene King.

“The whole reason why we’ve had to do all of this is because we’ve tried re-negotiate with the energy company and they weren’t interested in negotiating at all.

“So, the only thing that we could do was to kill the company and start again and that’s why we’ve done it.

“We love the pub and this way we can still be in the town.

“The truth of the matter is, we would have gone if they [the energy company] had kept us in that contract.”

The pair took over from Pete Lumber last year, who ran the pub for nearly 10 years before moving to Parkway to start a gin bar — which recently closed its doors for good.

The pub is one of the most top-rated places to eat in Berkshire and the country and has accrued more than 700 four or five-star ratings on TripAdvisor.