The non-brewing Marstons Pub Company’s boardroom decision to oust several loyal pub and hotel tenants in the Keswick area appears not to be going to plan, assuming that increased profitability of these former Jennings Brewery outlets under company management was their greedy objective.

At time of writing, the George Hotel is closed. Oddfellows in the Market Place, formerly a large busy food-driven outlet is currently not serving meals. Ditto the Twa Dogs pub on Penrith Road, Keswick. The Royal Oak at nearby Braithwaite is also currently shut.

If Marstons’ directors had done their homework they would probably have left their tenants in place, as they were paying high rents, buying Carlsberg Marstons drinks and trading with loyal long-term staff. Needless to say, when Marstons did the dirty on their tenants, some of their staff refused to work for this pub company.

Fact of the matter is that potential hospitality staff looking for work in the town are as rare as hens’ teeth.

For a start, reasonably priced residential accommodation in the town is non-existent, so nowhere for incoming staff to live.

More than 50% of the houses in Keswick have, sadly, been converted by their wealthy investor owners into self-catering holiday lets, which now number an astonishing 800+ in this small market town.

My guess is that Marstons may be forced into doing an embarrassing U-turn and try to lease off the pubs they have cruelly invaded and attempted to run under management.

Watch this space !