Sudden Luton pub closure left couple just three months to find a new wedding venue

A couple counting down to their big day got a shock when a late-night email from their Luton wedding venue called the whole thing off.

With just three months to go after getting engaged in 2019, Emily McTaggart and fiance Mark Freestone thought they were into the home straight.

But the email from the White Horse Pub in Tea Green told them the pub had closed, and their £750 deposit was lost.

A scramble to find another venue on the same date, May 27, has been successful, but left the couple feeling bruised and out of pocket.

The couple, from Stotfold, booked their venue last year after going through the pandemic and having two children, Freddie, now two and Millie aged one.

"It’s in a really nice location,” said Emily, 29. “It’s really nice and popular even though it’s in a little village. We wouldn’t have expected this to happen, it’s quite upsetting.”

The couple, who have been together for 14 years, say they have been told by the owners of the pub, WHTG Ltd, that the pub has closed and there is no money to repay deposits. They received the email informing them of the closure at 9.30pm on February 3.

"Obviously we were upset and there were tears at the beginning,” she said. “We were all prepared and ready to go so it was really stressful. We have had to start planning a wedding from scratch again.”

Emily said they managed to find another venue near Datchworth for the same date, but some of their 100 expected guests have had to find new hotel rooms and they have had to pay the registrar again for the move.

But said added she had heard of other couples who had been impacted.

In an email to Emily, the pub’s tenant landlord claimed landlord Admiral Taverns had put the property up for sale and was refusing to allow the current tenants to renew their lease.

The email from the White Horse said: “Due to the uncertainty of what is happening and the lack of communication from the brewery the management team have had no choice but to cease trading with what seems to be indefinitely [sic]. We want to assure you that we have explored every possible solution to this extremely heartbreaking situation but the stress this has taken on the business' finances has left us with no funds in which to invest or continue to trade.

“The chances are the White Horse will go into liquidation very soon which means unfortunately your deposits will be lost to this process.”

Tenant landlord Jon Haines has been approached for comment.

A spokesman for Admiral Taverns said: “We are champions of local, sustainable community pubs across the UK and we take great pride in helping our licensees run successful businesses. Our portfolio includes predominantly wet-led community pubs and unfortunately the White Horse no longer fits under this, so we took the decision to sell the pub. The licensee was informed back in October 2022 and the pub is currently on the market, with discussions still ongoing.”

Have you been impacted by the closure of the White Horse pub? Contact us at [email protected]