Antic Collective

Antic Collective is a company which runs roughly 50 pubs in London.

The original company, which was founded in 2000^[1], went into administration in 2013 over unpaid debts. Some pubs were closed and the remaining operating pubs were sold to a sister company Gregarious.^[2]

In 2018, the company's staff began a campaign for better wages, especially at Christmas.^[3]

In November 2020, the company lost around a third of its portfolio which were taken over by Portobello Brewing after their "long term financial partners decided to serve notice upon us to terminate our management relationship for those pubs in which they had an interest".^[4]

In July 2024, the company announced that 13 of its pubs were at risk of closure after the company again went into administration.^[5]

Locations

The majority of Antic's pubs are south of the River Thames. Many are in buildings converted from their former use and names reflect this, such as Effra Social in the former Effra Conservative Club, Brixton.^[6]

Antic opened a pub called The Job Centre in 2014 in a former Jobcentre Plus building on Deptford High Street. The choice of name was criticised by locals as "ironic gentrification", with a spokesperson from the Public and Commercial Services Union regarding it as "grossly insulting that they are inviting people to go and enjoy themselves with an ironic nod and wink that this was once a place for poor people".^[7]

References

^ "ANTIC LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
^ "Pub firm Antic Ltd collapsed owing £2.6m". morningadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
^ "'It's Not a History Lesson Anymore': The Union Activists Taking on a London Pub Chain". Novara Media. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
^ Urban, Mike (2020-11-24). "The Antic pub network shrinks dramatically as Brixton's Effra Social is just one of many venues taken over by Portobello Brewing". Retrieved 2024-08-20.
^ Gray, Katherine (2024-07-15). "Pub chain could shut 13 branches across London as it goes into administration". My London. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
^ "Home". Antic.
^ "Job Centre bar defends name after online backlash". ITV News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

External links

Official website

[1] "ANTIC LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-20.

[2] "Pub firm Antic Ltd collapsed owing £2.6m". morningadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

[3] "'It's Not a History Lesson Anymore': The Union Activists Taking on a London Pub Chain". Novara Media. Retrieved 2024-08-20.

[4] Urban, Mike (2020-11-24). "The Antic pub network shrinks dramatically as Brixton's Effra Social is just one of many venues taken over by Portobello Brewing". Retrieved 2024-08-20.

[5] Gray, Katherine (2024-07-15). "Pub chain could shut 13 branches across London as it goes into administration". My London. Retrieved 2024-08-20.

[6] "Home". Antic.

[7] "Job Centre bar defends name after online backlash". ITV News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2020.

[1]