Venues run by troubled Dundee pub firm Macmerry were closed at the weekend after police scolded managers for breaching their booze licences.
Cops visited several venues in the city centre on Friday night after receiving a tip-off to suggest that the bars might be operating without the proper paperwork. Sources told Dundee Live that the affected venues included nightclub Nola - part of rum bar The King of Islington - as well as pasta bar Franks and its associated venues, The Blue Room and Draffens.
Food venue Bird and Bear and the attached Abandon Ship Dundee bar were also visited by cops, who said the watering holes had been operating "otherwise in accordance" with their licences. The difficulty is thought to have arisen because the parent company governing every venue was wound up earlier this month.
A source said: "I believe it was a licensing issue - they don't own the correct licenses to operate so the venues were closed down by police on Friday night."
The venues were told to stop selling alcohol until the problems were resolved. Company reps say the issues have been sorted and that no staff will be out of pocket as a result.
The licensing snafu is the latest in a long line of headaches for the beleaguered hospitality firm, which now trades as Belford Ltd after transferring all of its assets from its original trading company. Macmerry300 Ltd was shuttered earlier this month just days after HMRC applied to Dundee Sheriff Court to shut the firm down amid what are understood to be six-figure tax debts.
Company director Phil Donaldson transferred the company to Belford Ltd, run by his business partner AJ McMenemy. But Belford is majority controlled by another company, Bromley and Bolton Ltd, which in turn is run by Donaldson - indirectly giving him control of the entire enterprise.
Workers also accused the firm of mistreating workers, breaching health and safety and Covid rules and failing to pass on HMRC and pension deductions from their payslips. The company appointed HR firm Dorothy McKinney to mount an investigation after the Daily Record published some of the claims made by staff and trade union Unite.
Scottish licensing laws give insolvent firms 28 days to transfer their alcohol licenses to a new company - pending approval by local authorities. Official council records show that applications to transfer the licenses for each venue were lodged earlier in June but appear to be pending approval.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Friday 24 June, 2022, following receipt of information that licensed premises were operating otherwise in accordance with Premises licenses, officers from Dundee City Centre policing team visited three licenced premises in the City Centre.
"The officers engaged with staff within the premises, providing them with advice and ensuring all premises were compliant with licensing legislation."
Responding to questions from Dundee Live, Phil Donaldson said: "No staff member has lost a single penny throughout this entire process. The licence lapsed at three sites for a a couple of days due to a technicality in the transfer of licence process. The issue has been rectified and we opened for business as usual earlier in the week."
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