A veteran landlord has slammed one of the biggest brewery companies in the country for selling one of its pubs in Reading to be converted into a Greggs.
Darren Brett, a pub landlord with years of experience, has reacted with dismay at the news that a pub he used to run could be turned into the chain bakery.
The Royal Albion in Oxford Road was owned by brewery company Greene King until it sold the building last May.
Greene King and the new owner cited evidence showing approximately 14 different lease agreements, which Mr Brett argues is misleading.
He said: “When I was at The Royal Albion it was consistently me for 12 years from 2007 to 2019.
“They’ve argued that no one wants it as a pub, that’s not true, I tried to contact the landlord about leasing the pub in the last year.
“Greene King sold it to another party 12-18 months ago. I did get a call from an agent from Hicks Baker asking if I’m interested, then it went quiet.
“I know other people are interested as well.
“When I had the Albion it was the most successful pub on the Oxford Road, people were saying how busy it used to be, the fact it had parking was a big plus, if people wanted to leave their car there it was ok, it was the most successful pub on Oxford Road for 10 of those 12 years.
“Greene King put in some wrong managers, then poor performance led to the downfall of the pub, there was a drug element when the council and police got involved.”
He referred to an incident in March 2022 when the pub was raided by armed police.
Mr Brett continued: “It was being mismanaged to a certain degree.
“But to say there were 14 managers is wrong, it was a going concern, it had footy. live TV, games, it was a busy, busy pub.
“The George & Dragon was a travesty, they put the wrong managers in as well. That was a community asset, just like the Royal Albion was at one stage.”
The George & Dragon in Bath Road was demolished and replaced with a Greggs drive-thru following a successful project by Greene King Commercial Investments. The Greggs opened in March.
Mr Brett then explained why he left the pub.
He said: “I left the Albion because Greene King continually put the rent up, they squeezed me out of it so I could no longer have it as a viable business.
“They priced Fosters at £4, whereas at the Pond House and Wishing Well, you could get it for £2.80.
“The prices and rent went up too much. I left, they couldn’t get the right manager, so I did other stuff. I took over the Baron Cadogan pre-COVID, which was very successful, but COVID affected it.”
The Baron Cadogan in Caversham was a Wetherspoons until the company closed it in March 2019, with Mr Brett taking it over that May.
He ran The Baron Cadogan until April 2022, when it was bought out and converted into Clay’s Hyderabadi restaurant in February 2023.
Since then, Mr Brett moved on to The Traveller’s Rest, which is owned by Brakspear.
The Traveller’s Rest, near Reading Cemetery in Henley Road, Caversham, was leased by Mitchells & Butlers Sizzling Pubs until Mr Brett took it over last autumn.
He said: “They [Clay’s] put an offer in which I couldn’t give up. What we did there was really good. When I was made aware of Travellers Rest, I did a small sparkle refurb.
“It turned around really quickly, and Brakspear offered me a longer-term deal.
“We do a lot of food there; we do five to 10 funerals a week. We’re able to hold three to four funerals at the same time.”
On the prospect of The Royal Albion being brought back, Mr Brett said: “I spent a long time there, for them to say it’s no longer viable, it was a combination of several bad decisions which made the Royal Albion not viable, with strong leadership it could return.
“It was popular, it still is, it can be resurrected absolutely. I had five pubs all at the same time – The Royal Albion, the New Inn, the Wishing Well, and the Shepherds House.
“This was a focal point in the community for lots of people. Stating that it isn’t a viable business or that there was no interest simply isn’t true.
“The pub is a long-standing British tradition. There are too many pubs closing down.”
He concluded that he would “love the opportunity” to discuss reopening The Royal Albion under the right conditions.
Greene King has received Mr Brett’s allegations but has declined to comment.
You can view the plan to convert the pub into a Greggs by typing reference PL/24/1521 into Reading Borough Council’s planning portal.
