UK pub firm collapses into liquidation – £500k of debts
The firm behind a pub in a popular tourist region has collapsed into liquidation with over £300,000 owed to HMRC.
A UK pub firm based in a popular tourist region has collapsed into liquidation with over £500,000 in debts, according to reports. Cotswold Pub Partnership Limited, which traded as The Fox Inn in Great Barrington, Oxfordshire, entered insolvent liquidation last year. While the firm behind the riverside inn which describes itself as an "award-winning gastropub with rooms" was shuttered, the pub remains open.
A spokesperson said Cotswold Pub Partnership was an umbrella company that was liquidated on "professional advice" after accuring £502,587 in debt to six creditors, the Swindon Advertiser reports.
Simon Renshaw, of London-based company IQ Insolvency, was appointed as liquidator on April 9 to manage the accounts, which include £310,968 owed to HMRC.
Directors of the Cotswold Pub Partnership, Gemma and Terrance King, set up a new firm called Fox at Barrington Limited in April, according to documents on Companies House.
Mr Renshaw said: "It is not anticipated that the work the liquidator has carried out to deal with the company's assets will provide a financial benefit to creditors.
"This is because either the value of the assets was insufficient to produce a financial benefit after the associated costs of realisation were taken into consideration, or because there were no assets owned by the company in accordance with [its] statement of affairs that could be realised for the benefit of creditors."
Early 2026 has seen a surge in company failures as surging wage bills and running costs sent prices soaring.
The latest data from the Insolvency Service showed that the number of company insolvencies rose 7% month-on-month in March to 2,022.
Administrations also surged 52% between February and March to 235, and were 82% higher than in March 2025, while compulsory liquidations jumped 18%.
Alongside high operating costs, fuel and energy price hikes linked to the conflict in Iran have further increased pressure on sectors including manufacturing, retail and those with limited financial headroom.
