Jeremy Clarkson says pub is 'total disaster', as he reveals over 100 thefts in a day and claims he's 'losing a fortune'
23 December 2024, 07:40 | Updated: 24 December 2024, 07:17
Jeremy Clarkson has lifted the lid on the difficulties of running a pub, claiming it is "nigh-on impossible" to make a profit.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Clarkson said he was spending tens of thousands of pounds a month at the Farmer's Dog "to keep the council off our back"
Other woes include customers stealing from him at an "extraordinary" rate, as well as electricity and heating costs.
Clarkson opened the pub a few months ago and said there there's "no problem" with getting people to come - only in making money off their visits.
He said: "Behind the scenes, then, everything is a total disaster. But the fact is that when you go there you just wouldn’t know."
Writing for the Times, Clarkson revealed a series of unexpected issues he and staff had to deal with, including a toilet incident that needed "a whole team of chemically trained hazmat engineers" to sort it out.
He added: "The theft, for example, is extraordinary. People seem to have it in their heads that if they come in for a pint they are entitled to go home with the glass in which it was served.
"Last Sunday 104 went missing. And that cost must be added to the £100 a day we spend on fuel for the generator, the £400 a week it costs to provide warmth on the terrace and the £27,000 a month we must spend on parking and traffic marshals to keep the council off our back."
He continued: "It’s galling to see how much effort is required to make so little money on the farm. It’s worse at the pub.
"The customers are coming. There’s no problem there. But turning their visits into a profit is nigh-on impossible."
Despite the difficulties, Clarkson said that he was determined to keep going with the pub, which follows on from the farm shop and the farm itself.
"It’s warm and there’s a fire and the staff are friendly and young and happy," he said.
"It’s a proper, traditional pub. By which I mean you’ll love it, and I’ll lose a fortune and develop a skin disease from the stress of running it."
Clarkson hit the headlines last month as he hit out at Labour's inheritance tax changes for land owners, accusing Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves of 'ethnically cleansing' the countryside of farmers.
A furious Clarkson has claimed the new tax rules "make farming nigh on impossible", adding that Reeves' plans are the equivalent of taking "a machine gun" to land owners.
The presenter had previously labelled Labour's plans to hike inheritance tax for land owners, as announced in the recent Budget, "all out-war on the countryside".
"The truth is, there are no farmers who are happy with what Reeves and her politburo have done," Clarkson wrote.
"And when you see what happens to the countryside and the cost of your food, you won’t be happy either."
He also joined a protest against the rule changes in central London.
