Award-winning North Yorkshire pub liquidates owing more than £80,000

The exterior of the Greyhound at Riccall (Image: Star Pubs)

An awarding winning North Yorkshire village pub has gone under, with its company owner owing more than £80,000.

The debt is revealed in a report into the voluntary liquidation of Sam and Jay’s Limited, which traded as The Greyhound Inn at 82 Main Street, Riccall.

Clough Corporate Solutions Ltd of Leeds was enlisted as the liquidator, following a vote to voluntarily wind up the company on July 16.

Companies House records Jason Bainbridge as the sole director. Until last October, pub landlady Sam Bainbridge was also listed as a director.

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Two years ago, York Camra presented Sam and the pub with a plaque for it being their Pub of the Season.

Then, Selby area stalwart Colin Young thanked Sam for “saving the pub and putting it at the heart of the community.”

Sam, who took over the pub with her husband during the pandemic, thanked the villagers for their support.

She told the presentation that August: “Everybody says we have turned it around. We have invested money in doing it up, and had the outside re-done.”

In addition, there are different nights such as folk singing, quiz nights, “everything to make it a community pub for everybody to use.”

(Image: Star Pubs)

The well-regarded pub received 4.5 stars out of five on Google and four stars out of five on Tripadvisor.

Sadly, the pub closed in May and Star Pubs is now offering a ‘foundation tenancy’, which is a five year fixed term agreement, designed for running a community pub.

Star Pubs says the Greyhound Inn has an estimated annual turnover of £444,774.

A report by the liquidators known as a Statement of Affairs outlines the debts that had been accrued.

The business, said the report, had estimated assets of £5,729 available to pay the preferential creditors- those who are paid first.

Preferential creditors were owed £1,630, made up of £1,428 of employees' claims and £202 in pension.

This left a surplus of £4,099 as regards preferential creditors.

Then, came the secondary preferential creditors who are paid next, namely HMRC who was owed £26,088, leaving an outstanding deficiency or debt of £21,989.

Furthermore, there were unsecured claims - those who are paid last- totalling £58,794.

These consisted of £24,366 in a director’s loan account, £11,490 owed to employees, £11,000 in a loan, 10,371 owed to utility creditors, £1,469 to the local authority and a further £98 to HMRC.

This gave a deficiency with regards to unsecured creditors of £80,873.

With the business having £2 in ordinary shares, this left an outstanding debt or deficit of £80,781.

A related list of creditors said they were owed £86,511 in total. Among them, employees were owed £12,917.11, HMRC £26,186.11, and a director’s loan to Jason Bainbridge of £24,364.95.