Antic Collective is a company which runs roughly 50

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The original company, which was founded in 2000, went into administration in 2013 over unpaid debts. Some pubs were closed and the remaining operating pubs were sold to a sister company Gregarious. In 2018, the company's staff began a campaign for better wages, especially at Christmas. 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". In July 2024, the company announced that 13 of its pubs were at risk of closure after the company again went into administration.

Locations

The majority of Antic's pubs are south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Many are in buildings converted from their former use and names reflect this, such as ''Effra Social'' in the former Effra

Conservative Club The Conservative Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1840. In 1950 it merged with the Bath Club, and was disbanded in 1981. From 1845 until 1959, the club occupied a building at 74 St James's Street where ...

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

. Antic opened a pub called ''The Job Centre'' in 2014 in a former

Jobcentre Plus Jobcentre Plus (; ) is a brand used by the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom. From 2002 to 2011, Jobcentre Plus was an executive agency which reported directly to the Minister of State for Employment. It was formed by th ...

building on

Deptford High Street Deptford High Street is a street in the Deptford area of the London Borough of Lewisham in south east London. It runs northwards from its southern junction with New Cross Road/Deptford Broadway ( A2) for approximately to Evelyn Street/Creek Road ...

. The choice of name was criticised by locals as "ironic gentrification", with a spokesperson from the

Public and Commercial Services Union The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the eighth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies. History The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...

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".

References

External links

*{{Official, http://anticlondon.com Pub chains