Shock as three Shrewsbury venues suddenly close amid row between leaseholders and landlord

A public row has broken out between the landlord of the Peach Tree, Havana Republic and Century, in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, and The Shire Collection, which took the leases over in November 2022.

Landlord Martin Monahan is also the owner of the Buttermarket in the county town and said he had wanted married couple Michael Anderson-Halford and Ben Anderson-Halford to succeed.

Mr Monahan said: "I have been so patient, I wanted them to succeed but in the end it feels like a relief to get them out."

He added that there had already been interest from potential new occupiers of the building to move in once issues with the existing lease have been resolved, saying he had a phone call from the leaseholders telling him they had "vacated the building".

"We are taking our time and I can't do anything until I know more. They are still the leaseholders."

A statement on Havana Republic's Facebook page that strongly criticised the leaseholders, has been shared more than 400 times, with 300 comments left underneath.

It added: "We are unable to disclose any further specific details due to pending legal action.

"Whilst it is early days as to what will happen to the venues moving forward, anyone interested in the possibility of purchasing or leasing out these venues should email martin@21stcd.com in the first instance."

The directors of The Shire Collection, Ben Anderson-Halford and Michael Anderson-Halford, have also issued a joint statement on Facebook with Tamara Wood.

They said: "As we approach what would have been the three-year anniversary since our landlord made the difficult decision to close the doors to the venues he had been operating for so many years, this week we also came to the difficult decision to close for the final time on Monday evening."

They said they had met some "incredible humans along the way" but cited a number of "contributing factors" that led to them saying "enough is enough".

They continued to say they weren't "turning our backs on doing the right thing", adding: "Whilst the venues are no longer operating, we have every intention to resolve individual matters over the next few weeks and ask that if you do have a matter then please email accounts@theshirecollection.co.uk."

"We're going to be taking some time off from the world of social media but I just want to say a big thank you to each and every individual who made it the last three years.

"Through the ups and the downs, some fantastic friendships and memories were made and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours."