Tile damage legal action has wiped two-thirds of pub’s value, owner says

A pub owner who ripped off its distinctive green tiles estimates the resulting legal action has wiped two thirds of its value.

Charlie Southall hired builders to tear down the tiles on the Montreal Arms after residents failed to support a fundraiser to restore it.

He said this would be to turn it into a refuge for Ukranian women and children, but after his motives were questioned at a public meeting he abandoned the plans.

Accounts filed to Companies House today state he estimates the building is currently worth just £150,000 because of the enforcement notice and its designation as an asset of community value.

Mr Southall set up the company, Dragonfly Architectural Services Limited, in September 2021 as a vehicle to buy the pub.

Land Registry records show the company bought the pub for £420,000 on 7 March, 2022.

In the company’s first set of accounts, published today, an entry of £452,206 is added under investment property for its first year, ending 30 September, 2022.

However, a “fair value” adjustment of £302,206 is also included, indicating the property is currently worth just £150,000.

The accounts say: “The property is subject to an enforcement notice which has triggered an ongoing legal dispute and which makes ascertaining an accurate fair value extremely difficult.

“It has also recently been classified as an asset of community value.

“In the director’s opinion, it would be almost impossible to sell the property until the legal situation has been resolved. He estimates that the fair value at 30 September 2022 was no more than £150,000.”

The accounts also show that the company owes £463,633, “owed to another company partly owned by the company director. The loan is interest-free and repayable on demand.”

Replacing the tiles could come with its own hefty price tag, with one resident estimating that it could cost £90,000 because of the bespoke shapes needed for details such as the corners and cornicing.

At the public meeting called by Mr Southall shortly after he bought the pub, he told residents he had become a millionaire via his video production company, Dragonfly Digital Video Services Ltd.

He told them the money to buy the pub had been loaned to his property development company as taking it out directly would make him liable for a significant amount of tax.

The tiles were ripped off the pub on March 29, 2022. Brighton and Hove City Council issued a stop notice the same day, and within weeks it issued an enforcement notice giving Mr Southall a year to restore them.

He appealed this in June, putting a hold on the enforcement notice. An inspector visited the site last month, and a decision is expected within days.

On 4 April, residents applied for the pub to be added to the council’s register of assets of community value, which was approved on 13 May. This decision was upheld at a subsequent review on 20 September.

The scaffolding on the pub – put up shortly after the tiles came off – was taken down last month. Residents reported further damage to lintels and windowframes to the council, which is currently considering taking action.

If the appeal is dismissed and the enforcement notice upheld, it is likely the planning inspector will give Mr Southall a further period of time to replace the tiles. If this is not done, the council has the option of taking him to court.

In 2018, a Brighton businessman was fined £82,000 by a district judge for ripping out original features at his 16th century manor house without planning permission.

A student landlady was fined £18,000 in 2020 by Brighton Magistrates Court for continuing to rent a Bevendean house as an HMO despite an enforcement notice.

The accounts for both Mr Southall’s companies have been prepared by McPhersons Walpole Harding, which has since gone into liquidation, with Lee De’ath from Begbies Traynor appointed administrators.