30/06/2022
❗️Public Announcement❗️
Hi everyone, it’s Lou.
As you are all aware, The Duck is up for sale.
I am the tenant of the business and the landlords have decided to sell the building and business. I was hoping to carry on with the tenancy until a buyer is found and I could negotiate a new tenancy agreement with them so we could carry on as we are, but this is now not the case.
I have been the tenant of the pub for almost 4 years now and always had a 12 month tenancy agreement. The latest agreement ran out at the beginning of June and my current landlords refused to renew it, instead they gave me a rolling month to month contract, which I didn’t agree with as it provided less security for me and my staff. The landlords have also now decided to inflict a rent increase on me, which, with the business being in a position of still recovering from the effects of Covid, I am not in a position to pay the extra £400 per month at this current time.
Due to the fact that I took the business on when it was at it lowest, built it up and also dragged it through Covid (from which it still hasn’t recovered fully) I feel that a rent increase at this point in time is very unfair, so i have handed in my notice to leave. This was not an easy decision for me but I was given an ultimatum to agree to the rent increase or leave.
To be clear, The Duck will remain open during my notice period and I will still be trading until 24th July.
As you can imaging this is a very sad and stressful time for me and my staff as we have poured our hearts and souls into The Duck to make it what it is today, but feel we cannot carry on under the current circumstances.
We will miss you all soo much and hope that the new tenant will keep The Duck as it is, the place we all love and call our home.
PS, Details of the leaving party will follow👌🏻