A popular LGBT pub in Shoreditch has pulled its final pint, after being priced out of business by spiralling London rents.
The owners of The George and Dragon, Richard Battye and Liliana Sanguino, surrendered their 20-year lease on Tuesday after nearly 13 years on Hackney Road.
Earlier this year, they were informed by their landlords that their rent would be triple its previous level. They attempted to negotiate but were unable to secure an affordable compromise.
Battye told Hackney Post: “We built The George & Dragon up from scratch; it was a shoe shop in 2002. We licensed it, put in the bar, the loos. We invested a lot of time and energy and love, so it was a tough decision.”
It is the third pub for the LGBT community on Hackney Road to have shut down in the space of a year.
The Joiners’ Arms closed in January to be turned into flats, while The Nelson’s Head shut a month later after a reported hike in its rent.
Battye said he does not begrudge his landlords but believes the authorities must do something to stop the proliferation of unaffordable levels of rent: “For their part our landlords only want to make the most of their assets.”
“[But] now would be the perfect time to protect community assets – even if one venue becomes unviable, providing affordable alternatives would be good,” he said.
The venue held an event to mark its final night in Shoreditch. Battye and Sanguino hope to sign a lease for a new site in Tower Hamlets in the next few days.
“We held a party to celebrate the good times and say goodbye to what turned out to be a magical place for many people,” he said.
“We did alright, enough to carry on but after 13 years we decided to go out with a bang rather than try and steer through stormy waters and try and change what had become an institution.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor Of London said: “The Mayor has launched a number of measures aimed at supporting London’s cultural life, which he believes is critical to its success, socially and economically. This includes looking into a possible champion for the night time economy, who would work with businesses, residents and local authorities to ensure the long term sustainability of this important sector”.
“The Mayor also recently published a planning guide, which gives information about what developers, planners and community groups can do, using existing frameworks, such as Section 106 agreements and turning venues into Assets of Community Value.”
Photo by Kara Pandza
