Confirmed: The S’Oak will not be reopening, and staff have been made redundant

Greene King told The Birmingham Tab the pub will be closing


The S’oak in Selly Oak will not be reopening on April 12 as lockdown restrictions ease, Greene King confirmed to The Birmingham Tab today.

Staff at The S’oak were told today that the landlord has decided not to renew the leasehold agreement with Greene King who own the pub.

The pub will instead be converted into student flats, staff were told today.

Greene King announced the closure of 79 pubs and restaurants back in October, however it did not mention which sites would not be re-opening.

Staff were called into a meeting at the S’oak at midday today to discuss the closure.

Alex Best, a student at UoB and an employee of the S’oak told The Birmingham Tab, “We were told to go to the S’oak at 12pm today. Upon arrival, the Area Manager was there, who none of us knew or had even met before.”

“He told us that the landlord wasn’t renewing the leasehold agreement with Greene King. He said that the landlord has decided to convert the premises into student accommodation”, Alex told The Birmingham Tab.

The staff are now entering a consultation period until April 25, where the Area Manager will endeavour to find them alternative employment at other Greene King pubs. However if the company cannot find alternative employment, the staff will be forced to take a redundancy package.

“A few of us asked about qualifying for redundancy packages, but the Area Manager didn’t know the details

“This is worrying for myself as I haven’t worked there for long, so I doubt I’ll get any significant pay out. It all came out of the blue”, Alex told The Birmingham Tab.

The Birmingham Tab contacted Greene King who said, “We can confirm that after discussions with our landlord, we are ending our lease at the S’Oak, and would like to thank all our teams and customers both past and present.

“This is a difficult time and we’re doing all we can to support our team at the moment. We are beginning a consultation with those affected and will be working hard to try to find them roles wherever possible at any of our nearby pubs.”

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