MacMerry 300: All staff made redundant as Dundee pub chain goes into liquidation

Liquidators have been appointed for Dundee bar chain MacMerry 300 and all 63 staff have been made redundant.

HMRC had applied to have the company, which runs several venues across Dundee, wound up.

Blair Nimmo and Geoff Jacobs from Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint liquidators.

The company, which was incorporated in April 2014, operated 11 bars located in Dundee and Glasgow.

‘Significant financial pressure’

A statement from the liquidators said the company incurred losses as a result of the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.

It also was unable to deal with cost pressures and allegations from staff that the company failed to deal with sexual harassment complaints as well as basic hygiene and safety issues.

More than 50 current and former staff also claimed a Christmas Covid outbreak had been covered up.

That placed the company under “significant financial pressure”.

Earlier this month, director Phil Donaldson resolved the company was insolvent and should be wound-up voluntarily.

The company instructed Blair Nimmo and Geoff Jacobs assist with the creditors’ decision to place the company into Liquidation.

According to liquidators, a transfer of certain assets took place in May 2022.

MacMerry 300 staff made redundant

With no available funding and certain of the company’s assets having been sold, the liquidators had no option but to make all 63 staff redundant.

Mr Nimmo, chief executive of Interpath Advisory and joint liquidator, said: “This is unfortunately a further example of a business within the hospitality and leisure sector being unable to withstand ongoing testing trading conditions, as the re-emergence from Covid-related restrictions continue against a backdrop of accumulated debt.”

Mr Jacobs, meanwhile, said their immediate priority will be to assist former employees with claims to the redundancy payments office.

He said they would be “safeguarding any remaining company assets and ascertaining from the director the circumstances under which the recent transfer of assets occurred and carrying out appropriate investigations”.

Venues affected

MacMerry 300 was set up in 2010 by AJ Mcmenemy and Phil Donaldson.

Richard Davies, whose Abandon Ship clothing line was the inspiration for the bar of the same name, was also involved in the business.

In May, he stood down saying recent months have been “incredibly difficult for all involved, not just myself”.

MacMerry 300 opened its first Abandon Ship bar in Dundee in late 2018.

Last year, the company’s bosses set out their vision to open 10 across the UK in the next three years.

Nola, meanwhile, opened a week before the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.

The Union Street bar was forced to close, and then suffered a devastating flood last summer.

The list of venues which will now close and are under the control of the liquidators are:

• Bird & Bear (Dundee)
• Abandon Ship (Dundee)
• Gracies (Broughty Ferry)
• KoI (Dundee)
• Nola (Dundee)
• Draffens (Dundee)
• Franks (Dundee)
• Blue Room (Dundee)
• Fly South (Glasgow)
• The Luchador (Glasgow)
• Mr Lincoln (Glasgow)

Three further venues, the Abandon Ship bars in Glasgow and London, and The Bull in Glasgow, are run by different trading companies.

The Abandon Ship bars are run by Abandon Ship Bar Limited while The Bull is run by Haddington (Trading) Limited.

As a result, they are not affected and will continue trading.