Porterhouse unlikely to sell London property

The Porterhouse pub, club and microbrewery chain is unlikely to sell its high-profile London property following the settlement of a High Court action involving its shareholders.

In December, Frank Ennis, who owns a third of the group, went to the High Court to seek a series of orders against fellow shareholders Oliver Hughes and Liam LaHart.

It is understood the parties have settled the case. As a result, Mr Ennis has dropped a series of claims against his fellow shareholders and the Porterhouse is unlikely to sell its Covent Garden property.

Mr Ennis told the court last December the group had agreed to the sale of its pub on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden.

He had intended using his share of the proceeds to pay off a €1.2 million debt to Bank of Scotland. His liability to the bank related not to the Porterhouse but to another business in which he was involved.

In 2010, the bank got a judgment against him for the sum. In October 2011 the High Court gave the bank a charge over Mr Ennis’s stake in the Porterhouse and an order preventing him from selling or disposing of his interest in the business.

In December he claimed Mr LaHart and Mr Hughes were attempting to buy his shares in the Porterhouse from the bank for between €700,000 and €800,000, below what he believed they were worth.

He sought an order preventing them from dealing with Bank of Scotland and directing them to buy his shares at a price to be determined by the court.

Meanwhile, the Porterhouse Group yesterday opened its newest pub in Cork. The bar is located in the Mardyke complex in the city centre.

The group now has seven bars: four in Dublin and one each in Cork, London and New York.