Nightclub latest victim of rents and recession
Wednesday 26th August 2009, 2:30PM BST.
MORE high profile casualties of the recession and high rents in Town emerged yesterday.
Rogues Nightclub and Irish bar Claddagh will close on Monday night.
The Ordinary Division of the Royal Court yesterday ordered Guernsey Nightclubs Ltd to leave the premises by Tuesday.
The company owed landlord Castle Properties Ltd more than £16,000 in rent.
Guernsey Nightclubs proprietor Martin Rogan (pictured) said he had struggled to keep both open for a long time.
‘It is an absolute relief,’ he said. ‘I just couldn’t keep paying the rent.’
Guernsey Nightclubs was paying about £3,000 a week – £428 a day or £156,000 a year – for both premises.
‘Owing £16,000 in rent costs may seem a lot, but when you consider that we have been running the club for 10 years and that is only one month and a week’s rent,’ he said.
‘People forget that on top of that we have insurance costs of £20,000 per year, plus we have to pay security staff at £13 an hour, plus other things.’
Mr Rogan said landlords in general could be more understanding and work with tenants during the economic downturn.
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Perhaps Rogues closure is less to do with the recession and more to do with people finally waking up to the realisation that spending a fortune on entrance fees and drinks to go to a crap disco every weekend simply ain’t worth it!
As for Claddagh, although I’ve nothing against them personally, town has been saturated with rip-off priced tacky pubs for donkeys years so I’m sure one less won’t make a difference – I certainly won’t mourn the loss. Maybe they’ll be replaced with yet another sandwich bar or hair salon?!
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As an addendum – hopefully the demise of some of these “theme bars” will enable some of our older more established pubs like the Harbour Lights, Yacht and Ship & Crown to keep going.
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I really don’t feel sorry for them, if they offered a good service at a good price they would not have these issues. I went out last wednesday and Rogues was closed so went elsewhere and certainly wont be going back! I will continue to support the pubs that fulfil my needs as a paying customer
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Ah Paul!
I watched those harbour lights; they only told me they were yachting as they shipped out away from a crown.
Ahem! sorry about that; got carried away (I know I know should have been)
Yet never were truer words spoken, lovely old pubs, and always made welcome.
Thanks for mentioning them Paul
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Sorry Paul but the ‘Yacht’ has gone.
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Not a nice place to drink….
I think another point that needs to be made is that people do not like to go to town as often anymore due to the attitude of the kids walking the streets thinking they king of the world because they have managed to get served their Bacardi Breezer.
Only look forward now to visiting Bristol, London and Belfast, which I do often, because it is a more enjoyable night as you are less likely to get involved with some little drunken fool whose only purpose is to start trouble.
Increase the drinking age to 21 for anywhere and make parents more accountable.
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“spending a fortune on entrance fees and drinks to go to a crap disco every weekend simply ain’t worth it!”
Why isn’t Folies shutting down then?
At least Rogues tried to offer varying nights with different genres of music etc. Unfortunately this could be contributing to their downfall.
“Rogues was closed so went elsewhere and certainly wont be going back!”
Well….no you won’t, it says in the article they are closing.
“needs as a paying customer”
Presumably cheap drinks and cheaper women?
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@Rich
Agree completely.
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Its not just the rents though is it.
The smoking ban, drink driving laws, the fact that town at night is now an unwelcoming environment for anyone over the age of 30 are also contributory factors. Society is changing and popping out for a pint is ceasing to be an option for many people.
To be honest I don’t gove a monkeys about the closure of Rogues and Claddagh but the disappearance of so many of our old traditional pubs is an altogether sadder affair.
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How can a Landlord warrant such a high rent?
GREED MY FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!
GD.
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@Steven – ooops sorry! Shows how long it was since I was down that end of town….I do like the footy at the Ship and Crown though.
My old local was the Swan when Joe Gomes ran the pub. It’s still nice now but not as much fun as when Joe ran it.
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@Dean “Why isn’t Folies shutting down then?”
Evidently not everyone has woken up yet…or by the time they arrive they’re so drunk they don’t realise what a dive it is! :-)
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Reality has finally dawned on St Peter Port. Others will go the same way.
Discerning customers no longer want expensive rip-off cattle markets filled with binge drinking kids, staffed by arrogant people with bad attitude and matching breath.
I have seen the future. The future is Sark and the provision of quality and value for discerning customers by decent staff. sans le riff-raff!
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@Paul
I knew the Swan from way back; probably before you knew about it. I mean that in the nicest of ways.
That grand old Chap Teddy Zabiela, a Spurs supporter his cry was always “Up The whites”
Gaumont on a Friday night; was always at half time into teddy for quick one.
Life was good in those days; could still be if people had a grit in them. But never try it alone, but a concerted action would soon show those reptiles what it’s all about.
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@CD
It’s not just the over 30s that are put off by the atmosphere in town.
@Paul Le P
You are right, it seems everyone wants to go where ‘everyone else goes’, Follies is a terrible club.
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Steven: Actually the Yacht has re-opened as more ‘upper class’ than it used to be I believe.
Maybe its to do with the fact Rogues regulary runs out of drink. Or the fact the music is the same every night, apart from on a different genre night. But then the entrance fee is sky high.
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I personally hated Rogues, not my kind of place at all. So we’re left with Barbados or Follies. I haven’t been to Follies for ages partly because it’s £6 to get in, and when i was a regular customer, the staff were so rude and didn’t acknowledge you at all, just took your money and off you go. Barbados, whilst it is free and is therefore going to encourage more people, is a totally different place. I don’t like the sick smell when you walk in, or the sticky floors BUT i would rather go there than Follies. The drinks are cheaper, the music is generally similar, but maybe a little but more tacky.
I’m nearly 30, town is not what it was when I used to visit Whispers all those years ago (admitadly under age. There are only a handfull of places where I would go on a night out (Laska, Dix Neuf, Le Cru, Ciao, upstairs in Red Onion out the way of the rabble downstairs etc) because the younger people don’t go there.
It is a shame about Claddagh. I never had a problem in there and the place didn’t offend me. I hope it ISN’T turned into another sandwich bar like someone else mentioned. What about another Fast Food take out?? lol It should stay as a drinking place in my opinion
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GsyGal You’re absolutely correct about the ‘Yacht’, like I said, the ‘Yacht’ has gone.
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So what should go in its/their place?
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Pubs are closing in the UK at a rate of 52 per day! And night Clubs are no longer busy because you can just stay in the pubs till the early hours.When Pubs close earlier than Clubs then to carry on drinking you have to pay Club admission and more expensive drink prices. But people here are now staying at home and buying cheap wine and beer from the supermarkets.In Guernsey to drink around town it can be very expensive and do not forget the taxi ride home which adds more expense to the money required to have a fab night out in St Peter Port.
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@MT – What should go in its place? I’d like a Subway sandwich shop. Healthy and nutritious! Or, more controversially, a 100ft tall solid gold statue of me.
I agree with Sarkdog Millionaire, whenever I pop out for a pint now, I stoke up HMS Student Bob and set sail for the Mermaid Tavern, especially out of season, I’m guaranteed a bespoke clientele of private boat owners, like myself. Generally a better class of person.
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50 pubs and clubs a day are closing in the UK, mainly due to the smoking ban and the increased prices of electricity, gas and rates which in turn forces up the price of drinks on top of the governments tax increases.
I wonder whether I was the owner of this property whether or not I would rather take less rental income than none at all. Or perhaps the owners have other plans for the site.
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paul le p
Good to see you taking your own advice ref the Yacht. You really should do your research first. By the way I was a local of the Swan before Joe had it and it was a great pub. Don’t know what can be done about town at the weekend what with the drink drive laws but it is sad to see the demise of so many pubs.
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I loved the Buckeneer, got turned in to showers and posh toilets for the boaters ;) It was a great proper pub, like The Helmans Inn, played plenty pool there.
Golden Monkey anyone :)
Seems a very high rent too. Can’t say I am a fan of themed pubs either.
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The Helmans Inn? I bet you got a good pint of mayonnaise in there!!
Whereas in the Helmsman it was rubbish beer, but the jukebox and the “cigarettes” in the toilets made up for it!
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The Helmsman’s jukebox certainly was a highlight of my mis-spent youth. But surely the Kosy Korner was the winner for excessive under age drinking.
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I doubt that Castle Properties Ltd the owners will be smiling soon. In their absolute greed they will now pay the penalty for their exhorbitant rent. Have a look around town and see how many places are up for rent. maybe they don’t know their is a recession on.
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Paul Le P. Spot on mate re: The Rogues closure. Go back to the locals type bars as others have said. What about Yacht, Jamaica Inn, Bucaneer, West End, Welly Arms, Dukes Arms, The Ritz, Imperial, Harbour Lights, Hampshire Lodge, Fermain, Wayside, Rockmount etc etc. I know some of these closed long ago but many are still around. Also the many private clubs. KGV for example £2.25 a pint, ok £15 membership but you only need to drink 1 pint a week to get your money back compared to Town pubs prices, also one of the best smoking shelters on the island! Kid friendly too. In this recession, these people are pricing themselves out of the market
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Heh heh, the good old days….. The Fermain Tavern, Burnham Court,
The OGH -Top Hat..(became) Barbarellas’
The Wave, Vason.
The Smugglers.
The Granary,
The Buccaneer,
The Caves
I could go on….
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The problem has nothing to do with nightclubs and everything to do with the excessive rents charged by landlords.
Why are so many shops closing?
It is simply because landlords are too stupid and greedy to understand that it is more profitable to charge a lower rent in hard times than have no income to cover their ongoing costs.
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The Rogues & Claddagh Closure, Don’t shift the blame onto your Landlord, What can the manager expect when you only open your club two nights of the week and play the worst music I have ever heard and expect the public to follow you and be loyal, and Claddagh bar never opened untill 4pm each day,a town bar, he ran the business more like a part time job, sorry no sympathy in this case, people like this should not be in the leisure industry.
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Aw i’m glad Rouges has closed it was a god awful place anyway. it was rubbish under the name of Club 54 and it was even worse as Rouges. To be fair the nightlife over here is pretty pants. I do remember the days of The Monkey, Number 10! those were the days!!!
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If you can remember The Monkey and Number 10 then you weren’t there man!
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Still got my ‘green’ membership card for the Monkey,which enabled free entry at any time given to me by Rupert Wood as I played (well I turned up) for the Golden Monkey football team.
I don’t remember Number 10, would that have been 9 doors up from from Number 19? ;)
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