Latest news straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Administrators have been appointed to an independent group of Birmingham bars and the owner is blaming the ongoing Paradise roadworks for its problems.

Financial services firm Begbies Traynor was appointed to Town and Country Inns which runs Mechu, Après and Fleet Street Kitchen in Summer Row along with sister venues in Cheltenham and Sutton Coldfield.

But co-owner Mark Jones said the £500 million Paradise project, which has involved major roadworks on Parade parallel to Summer Row, had badly affected trade, causing it to slip into administration.

Mr Jones and co-owner Nigel Owen have now left the business, which has been trading in Birmingham for almost four decades, with new independent operators taking over.

All the bars, which employ around 115 staff alongside nine head office employees, will continue to trade as normal except for Après in Cheltenham which is to close with the loss of 17 jobs.

(Image: Emma Lee)

Mr Jones said: "In a nutshell, the roadworks have strangled the business. We have bars elsewhere but 70 per cent of our business comes from Summer Row.

"They are not due to complete until next year and we just can't survive that.

"It's such a shame as we've been trading in Birmingham for around 38 years and have been on Summer Row for 15 years. If it weren't for the roadworks, we would still be there.

"A new company with new directors have come in to take over. They're independent operators from outside of the city."

The Paradise project will eventually see eight new office buildings and a hotel developed on land around Chamberlain Square and the redrawing of traffic flow around the old Paradise Circus island and contributory roads.

Work started on the roadworks element in January 2015 and, while the new layout is taking shape on Parade, it is still unlikely to complete until well into 2017.

Mr Jones warned in February last year that trade was being affected by the project but then in July he announced that new investors had come into the business and the group was planning to launch a private members' club within Fleet Street Kitchen.

The leaseholds on the Après bars in Solihull and Lichfield were then sold and reopened under the Australian-themed Walkabout brand just a few weeks later and in August the firm revamped and rebranded its Après in Sutton Coldfield as a Fleet Street Kitchen.

A statement from the Paradise development team: "We were very sorry to hear of the unfortunate problems faced by Town and Country Inns - it will be a matter for others to determine the cause of the issues leading to their difficulties.

"As near neighbours of Paradise, we have liaised directly with the company and their venues since the start of the project and have worked with them over the construction period to maintain access and minimise disturbance but construction of the new road layout and improved junctions is a necessary and integral part of the development.

"The development team met regularly with Town and Country Inns and provided as much assistance as possible.

"This included placing additional signage in a number of very visible locations around the city and on the site hoardings, to direct pedestrians and motorists to the various establishments.

"Works were also re-scheduled to accommodate their needs, both around the busy Christmas period, during the summer and for the Euro football finals.

"However, the very nature of a complex development of this size and location means that there is inevitably some short-term disruption.

"In the longer term, the Paradise development is set to bring many thousands of jobs and very significant investment to Birmingham, as well as delivering new public realm and improved access throughout the city, including the much improved access across Great Charles Street."

Joint administrator Gareth Prince, from Begbies Traynor, said: "The business has been hit primarily by the long-running roadworks on Summer Row and also in Cheltenham, which has resulted in massively decreased footfall across the venues.

"As a result, the business had been struggling financially, but we were able to advise that administration and a subsequent sale was the best course of action.

"We are pleased we have been able to secure the majority of what is a long-standing leisure business."