Manager sad to see brewery collapse

THE former manager of a Henley bar which closed after its owner racked up almost £2.3m of debt is sad that it has gone.

Echoes Henley, which was in Gardiner Place, shut its doors three days before Christmas after its owner, the Phantom Brewery Co, entered voluntary liquidation.

Liquidators from Begbies Traynor were appointed following a creditors’ meeting on December 22, with £2.289m of outstanding debts owed to creditors.

Companies’ House documents show outstanding obligations of £1.79m owed to director Dominic Gemski, more than £234,000 owed to HMRC, and more than £32,000 owed to landlords Frankel Property Holdings and Hampshire County Council.

Suppliers and banks were owed more than £67,000 and the statement indicated £111,630 of employee claims at the time liquidators were appointed.

James Hoye said staff at Echoes Henley and the taproom in Reading, were made redundant.

They were all told that their employment would be ending on the same day as the social media announcement of the decision to close on December 22.

Mer Hoye said he understands the decision to liquidate was made to ensure all staff would be paid which, to his knowledge, had taken place.

Mr Hoye said: “It was unfortnate. They made some business decisions which didn't work out but nothing they did was meant to be intentionally upsetting.

“Phantom was a passion project for two mates who made good beer. They went into liquidation to ensure that everyone got paid what they were owed.

“They've been very good to me at least and helped me through the redundancy process, answering questions and sharing contacts for possible roles for me going forward.

“I think they could have announced the closure better and the timing was unfortunate, but they did what they did because they had to.”

Phantom Brewing Co, which is based in Reading, opened the Henley bar in 2023. A post shared on the company’s Instagram account said it would close both its sites and pause all trade and production while it enters a “period of restructuring”.

It said: “We’ll be entering an extended shutdown this winter whilst we finalise this transition and prepare for a future relaunch from a new home.

“As we will be unable to continue production during this time, we will be closing our taproom in Reading and Echoes Henley, as well as pausing all trade sales until further notice.

“The business will also undergo a period of restructuring to ensure the appropriate foundations are in place for the next phase.” The company, which is run by Dane White along with Mr Gemski, was formed in 2017 as a “passion project” run from home.

It moved into its brewery at Meadow Road in 2019 which served as the base of its brewing operations until last month’s announcement.

The company said it would now be focusing on its “next chapter” which included a relocation to a new production facility in Reading.

Last August, it received permission from Reading Borough Council’s planning committee to change the use of a warehouse in Bridgewater Close for its new production facility and tap room.

At the time, the company said its Meadow Road brewery produced 3,000 hectolitres of beer annually, which was distributed to pubs and bars throughout the UK.

In its December announcement, the company said it would now be focusing on this venue “as a priority”.

Phantom Brewery Co did not respond to a request for comment.