Wetherspoons is due to shut down its third Croydon pub in seven months following a decline in sales since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Foxley Hatch, located in Purley, is the most recent pub that the chain has decided to close down, following The Skylark in South End and Milan Bar in Croydon town centre, which both closed earlier this year.

The pub, established in 1993, is loved by many Purley residents and is known as a go-to affordable place for food and drinks in the area. 

Wetherspoons first attempted to sell the Foxley Hatch in 2015, but was unsuccessful after 1,800 people backed a petition against the shutdown.

Bar worker Holly Nash, who has been at the pub for the past nine months, said: “It’s such a shame that it’s getting shut down. I had a feeling already that it would happen because even on busy nights, the sales were down. Plus, after the Milan Bar closed down – it was only expected that we would be next.”

JD Wetherspoon, owned by Tim Martin, operates over 800 pubs in England and Ireland.

GoodTo.com has published a list of the expected 32 Wetherspoons pubs that are due to close this year, most of which are located in London.

Wetherspoons press spokesperson, Eddie Gershon, told ELL: “Wetherspoons does, on occasion, put some pubs up for sale and in a few instances closes pubs.”

“Although a few of its pubs have closed in Croydon the company still operates a number of pubs in the borough and is committed to serving the people of Croydon.”

Gershon also explained that although the Foxley Hatch has been put on the market, it will remain open as a part of the chain until it is sold.

JD Wetherspoon is still recovering from the impact of Covid-19. Many pubs, especially those situated out of central London, are likely to face the same fate as the Foxley Hatch due to lack of profit.

Statistics from the BBC show that during the pandemic, the pub chain made a £154.7m loss in sales after the 19-week closure that all pubs and restaurants faced.