The company running The Plough on St John's Road went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 29 July, a year after it was set up. What creditors can do next.

The company running The Plough, the pub on St John’s Road in Swalecliffe, has gone into liquidation. The Plough Swalecliffe Ltd resolved on 29 July to wind up voluntarily, and Nick Brierley and Edward M Avery-Gee of Manchester insolvency firm CG&Co were appointed joint liquidators the same day, according to notices published in the London Gazette on 30 July. The Gazette records it as a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, the route a company takes when it cannot carry on because of its debts.

The company had lasted barely a year. Companies House shows it was incorporated on 16 July 2025, registered at the pub itself with “public houses and bars” as its business. Its registered office has now moved to the liquidators’ address in Manchester, and its first accounts were never due to be filed before the winding-up resolution was passed.

What this does, and does not, mean for the pub

A liquidation of the operating company is not the same thing as the permanent closure of the pub. The Plough is a landmark on the corner of St John’s Road and the Thanet Way, described in CAMRA’s listing as one of the few remaining 1930s roadhouses in the area, and buildings like it are usually owned separately from the company pulling the pints. Premises that lose an operator this way often reopen under a new one.

What the public record does not tell us is whether The Plough is currently trading. We have found no public statement from the pub about the liquidation that we can verify, and this article reports only what the Gazette and Companies House record. If you are planning a visit, or have a function booked, contact the pub directly before travelling; we will update this story if a statement is made or the pub’s position becomes clear.

What it means for you

If the company owes you money, for example a deposit on a function room booking, a prepaid event ticket or an unspent gift voucher bought from The Plough Swalecliffe Ltd, you are a creditor in the liquidation. The appointment notice names Matthew Bannon at CG&Co as the contact for further information, on 0161 358 0210, and creditors can register a claim with the liquidators.

If you paid by credit card and lost money, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make the card provider jointly liable for purchases over £100, and debit card payments can sometimes be recovered through chargeback; Citizens Advice explains both routes. Suppliers and anyone else owed money by the company will be contacted by the liquidators as part of the process, and the liquidators’ reports, which set out what happened and what creditors can expect back, will be filed publicly on Companies House in due course. We will report what they say.