Posh commuter belt pub chain falls into administration and shuts six sites
The Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire–based chain, which largely operates in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and the Midlands, struggled to recover from enforced closures and restricted trading during the Covid pandemic.
The firm's closure has also been put down to rising energy and food costs, as well as a reduction in customer spending.
The upmarket Oakman Inns chain was founded by Peter Borg–Neal in 2007.
The chain's development arm, Oakman Dev has also entered administration.
As a result of the insolvency, six sites have been closed permanently, with 159 staff losing their jobs in the process.
However, 13 of the chain's leasehold locations and one freehold property were sold to Uphams Inns, with 531 jobs set to be transferred along with the sites to the new owner.
Kevin Todd, executive chairman of Upham Inns, said: 'We have been long term admirers of the Oakman Inns pub estate and the quality of their team and their offer…
'We look forward to welcoming the new team into our family and working together to create an exciting premium pub group, now with 30 fabulous locations.'
PwC, appointed as its administrators, said no acceptable offers were received for the sale of the whole business, despite 'an open and comprehensive marketing process,' and it was deemed that a part sale was the best way to maximise returns for creditors.
In May, Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group, was in talks to buy a chunk of the Oakman Inns' portfolio of some 30 sites.
Ross Connock, joint administrator at PwC, said: 'It's regrettable that six trading sites were not included in the sale, resulting in 159 redundancies. Our team of employee specialists are providing support to those affected during this challenging time.
'The hospitality sector continues to face significant and persistent challenges, including a reduction in customer numbers, which has been driven by changing consumer habits and broader economic pressures.'
'In addition, operators are contending with rising operating costs, such as increased energy prices, higher food and beverage costs, and wage inflation.'
Brewdog announced earlier this week that it would close 10 locations, including its flagship bar in Aberdeen, putting around 100 jobs at risk. The bars will close on 26 July.
The six Oakman sites that have closed are:
• Grand Junction Arms, Tring, Hertfordshire
• Beech House, Watford, Hertfordshire
• Journeyman, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
• King's Head, Chipping Ongar, Essex
• Navigation Inn, Lapworth, Warwickshire
• The George Inn, Ludlow, Shropshire
Meanwhile, Upham Inns will take over these 14 locations:
• The Penny Farthing, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
• The Beech House, St Albans, Hertfordshire
• The Betsey Wynne, Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire
• The Three Locks, Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire
• The Red Lion, Water End, Hertfordshire
• The Beech House, Solihull, West Midlands
• The Beech House, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
• The Beech House, Amersham, Buckinghamshire
• The Lost Boy, Farnham, Hampshire
• The Kings Arms, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
• The Woburn, Woburn, Bedfordshire
• The Old Post Office, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
• The Four Alls, Welford on Avon, Warwickshire
• The Navigation Inn, Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump introduces new wave of tariffs
The Trump administration announced a new trade policy and tariff plan, setting different rates based on a country's trade balance with the US. Goods from countries with a trade surplus will face a 10 per cent tariff, while those with a trade deficit will be subject to at least a 15 per cent tariff. More than a dozen nations with the highest trade deficits, including Syria (41 per cent) and Switzerland (39 per cent), will face tariffs exceeding 15 per cent. The tariff on Canadian goods increased from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, with the White House citing Canada's "continued inaction and retaliation." The new policy, initially set for 1 August, has been delayed until 7 August to allow US Customs and Border Protection time to implement the changes.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump finally announces new tariff plan hours before deadline - but delays them yet again
The Trump administration announced its new trade policy and its tariff plan on Thursday, just hours before the August 1 trade deadline. On Thursday night, the Trump White House announced that a "universal" tariff for goods coming into U.S. will remain at 10 percent. That is the same level that President Donald Trump set during his "Liberation Day" even in early April when he first announced the tariffs. However, that 10 percent rate will only apply to countries with a trade surplus — in other words, countries to which the U.S,. exports more than it imports. A senior administration official told the Associated Press that most countries have trade surpluses with the U.S. The new tariff policy will not go into effect on Friday. Trump has delayed the tariffs for another week, until August 7, reportedly to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection time to make changes in how it policies incoming goods and to collect the new duties from imports.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump hits dozens of countries with steep tariffs, including 35% for Canadian goods
July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump slapped dozens of trading partners with steep tariffs ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline, including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland. Trump released an executive order, opens new tab listing higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in seven days for 69 trading partners as the 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) deadline approached. Some of them had reached tariff-reducing deals and some had no opportunity to negotiate with his administration. The order said that goods from all other countries not listed in an annex would be subject to a 10% U.S. tariff rate. Trump's order said that some trading partners, "despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters." Trump issued a separate order, opens new tab for Canada that raises the rate on Canadian goods subject to fentanyl-related tariffs to 35% from 25% previously, saying Canada had "failed to cooperate" in curbing fentanyl flows into the U.S.. The higher tariffs on Canadian goods contrasted sharply with Trump's decision to grant Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs of 30% on many goods to provide more time to negotiate a broader trade pact. A U.S. official told reporters that more trade deals were yet to be announced as Trump's higher "reciprocal" tariff rates were set to take effect. "We have some deals," the official said. "And I don't want to get ahead of the President of the United States in announcing those deals." Regarding the steep tariffs on goods from Canada, the second largest U.S. trading partner after Mexico, the official said that Canadian officials "haven't shown the same level of constructiveness that we've seen from the Mexican side." The extension for Mexico avoids a 30% tariff on most Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade and came after a Thursday morning call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow," Sheinbaum wrote in an X social media post, adding that the Trump call was "very good." Approximately 85% of U.S. imports from Mexico comply with the rules of origin outlined in the USMCA, shielding them from 25% tariffs related to fentanyl, according to Mexico's economy ministry. Trump said the U.S. would continue to levy a 50% tariff on Mexican steel, aluminum and copper and a 25% tariff on Mexican autos and on non-USMCA-compliant goods subject to tariffs related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis. "Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many," Trump said in a Truth Social post without providing details. South Korea agreed on Wednesday to accept a 15% tariff on its exports to the U.S., including autos, down from a threatened 25%, as part of a deal that includes a pledge to invest $350 billion in U.S. projects to be chosen by Trump. But goods from India appeared to be headed for a 25% tariff after talks bogged down over access to India's agriculture sector, drawing a higher-rate threat from Trump that also included an unspecified penalty for India's purchases of Russian oil. Although negotiations with India were continuing, New Delhi vowed to protect the country's labor-intensive farm sector, triggering outrage from the opposition party and a slump in the rupee. Trump's rollout of higher import taxes on Friday comes amid more evidence they have begun driving up consumer goods prices. Commerce Department data released Thursday showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3% in June, the biggest gain since March 2022, after increasing 0.6% in May. Recreational goods and vehicles prices shot up 0.9%, the most since February 2024, after being unchanged in May. Prices for clothing and footwear rose 0.4%. Trump hit Brazil on Wednesday with a steep 50% tariff as he escalated his fight with Latin America's largest economy over its prosecution of his friend and former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from heavier levies. The run-up to Trump's tariff deadline was unfolding as federal appeals court judges sharply questioned Trump's use of a sweeping emergency powers law to justify his sweeping tariffs of up to 50% on nearly all trading partners. Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare an emergency over the growing U.S. trade deficit and impose his "reciprocal" tariffs and a separate fentanyl emergency. The Court of International Trade ruled in May that the actions exceeded his executive authority, and questions from judges during oral arguments before the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit in Washington indicated further skepticism. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier that the United States believes it has the makings of a trade deal with China, but it is "not 100% done," and still needs Trump's approval. U.S. negotiators "pushed back quite a bit" over two days of trade talks with the Chinese in Stockholm this week, Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
