Pub at the heart of South London community beats closure threat in final standoff

Two days after Clement Ogbonnaya's final offer to buy the freehold of his beloved Queen of the South pub was rejected, something miraculous happened. The major pub group that acquired the freehold came back to the table.

The beloved South London pub and event space faced threat of closure after Young's Pubs acquired the freehold. Founder Clement accused the pub group of “steamrolling” communities but the South London community quickly mobilised to ‘Save Our Queen’.

The uproar started on Monday, July 28, when The Queen of the South’s owner Clement Ogbonnaya shared news about the potential closure in an Instagram video. Clement is a key figure in the South London community as thefounder of The Village People pub group, which encompasses both Queen of the South in Tulse Hill and its iconic sister space, Prince of Peckham.

Beyond functioning as a pub, Queen of the South is a co-working space and known for hosting a range of community and youth events. The Queen also regularly collaborates with local artists, designers, and musicians. News about The Queen comes after a family of 10 'barge out' of pub in brazen dine and dash after £320 meal.

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In his call to action video, Clement said he had been given a “crazy deadline” to buy the freehold from a then unnamed pub group. He expressed “embarrassment” for having to ask for help but presented an opportunity for individuals to invest in the space to raise funds. “This is an opportunity in our community. We can own our own boozer. We can own bricks and mortar for infinity," he said.

In a sit down with The Mirror, Clement said the video was more “therapeutic” but that the overwhelming community response was “incredibly humbling”. Messages offering legal advice, DMs to invest in the space, and even demands for him to name the offending pub group ratcheted up. He says the video received over 300,000 views in the space of a week.

Even those not able to invest were bombarding him with questions about how they could help, prompting Queen of the South to launch a Crowdfunder campaign.

However, after a week of rallying, on August 6, Clement shared that their final offer to the pub corporation was rejected. Fresh out of the meeting, Clement revealed via Instagram that Young’s Pub was the group that bought the freehold.

A spokesperson for Young’s told The Mirror: “We recognise the significance of the Queen of the South pub in Tulse Hill as an important part of the local community and have been engaging with Clement Ogbonnaya to reach an agreement that will ensure its continued operation under the current management.

“We remain in exclusive negotiations with Clement regarding the freehold of the pub and have not had any conversations with any other potential bidders regarding the site.” The group said it was “always our intention” that the pub remain independent.

Clement was sceptical to say the least. “If they’re so committed, they wouldn’t be having this conversation with me right now.”

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He questioned not only what would become of the Queen —”some flats” or “a Tesco”— but who Young’s would cater to. “Who are you serving?” he asked in response to Young’s statement. “Are you serving Tulse Hill or are you serving Dulwich? Are you serving Tulse Hill or are you serving Chelsea?” A reference to Young’s polished portfolio of pubs catering to more affluent clientele.

“If pub companies like that claim to be committed to’ community’ then maybe they should do the community work here and see what happens,” Clement shared.

Even on the verge of losing The Queen, Clement said he was at peace with the reality. “Not because I don’t stand to lose so much money. Not because all of the hard work we’ve put into this building doesn’t mean anything. It’s because I think this is the beginning of The Village People. It’s the beginning of actually owning equity.”

Even going into what he believed to be his last negotiation meeting, Clement said the community fuelled him. “It was the first time I met with [Young’s] that I didn’t shrink. I went into that meeting not feeling small. And that’s purely because of the outcries—the backing and the support I received.”

“I didn’t go in as Clem, I went in as a community."

But on Friday, August 8, following publication of this story, The Mirror received an update that Clement's offer had been accepted. A spokesperson for Young's shared: "We are pleased to confirm that we have accepted Clement Ogbonnaya’s offer to buy the freehold of the Queen of the South pub in Tulse Hill.

"We recognise the significance of the pub as an important part of the local community and have had constructive conversations with Clement to find a solution that will enable it to continue operating under the current management. It was never our intention to close the pub."

Clement shared the exciting news just this week via Instagram: "We finally agreed [on] a deal!"

He explained: "Young's had to back down, but also thank you to Young's for coming to the table, getting this done and massive help they cleared all the debt. So it puts us in a great position. The deal has been done."

While this is a huge success for The Queen, Clement says "the big works starts now". The group will need to raise £500,000, though they have already received 15% of the funds needed privately. They will be hosting a potential investor dinner next Thursday, August 21 to secure further investment.

Queen of the South's sister venue, Prince of Peckham, is alive and thriving too, proving that the crown might have tilted, but won’t easily be toppled.

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