'˜I wouldn't change a thing' : traditional Northampton pub gets new owners

Gary Burlinson, who paid around £600,000 for the freehold of The Malt Shovel Tavern in Bridge Street, said so little needed altering he kept all the existing staff and manager Kirsty Bowen (and continued on as normal.

He said: “I’ve been coming here for 17 years and I know how good it is.

“There was nothing wrong apart from tiny things around the edges.

“The customers love it and Mike is only passing it on as he’s retiring after 20 years. I should actually put up a banner for customers saying, ‘Don’t worry, nothing is changing.’”

The purchase of the Malt Shovel makes it Burlinson Inns’s 11th pub and comes eight months after the cask ale house was first offered for sale for £750,000.

The present pub was built on the site in 1914 after the previous one was demolished. It has had a number of name changes, having been called the The Tudor House in 1983 and Barney Rubbles .

Download our app by clicking here to download from Google Play or clicking here to download from Apple’s App Store.