Aberdeen’s historic Monkey House pub will close in two weeks after its owner agreed to lease the premises to a Thai restaurant operator.
The bar’s owner Mike Wilson yesterday described the 20-year agreement as a “very good boost” for the city centre and said there would be no redundancies.
He revealed that the Monkey House’s 30 staff members would be given jobs in the other Aberdeen bars run by Epic Group, a business he founded in 1991.
The new tenant, Thai Leisure Group (TLG), said it would invest more than £1million in opening the new restaurant, which will be its second in the Granite City.
TLG, which runs more than 15 restaurants across the UK, including Thaikhun in Union Square, said the new eatery would open around the start of August.
The Leeds-based group added that the move was a vote of confidence in the north-east economy, and would create 40 new jobs.
Mr Wilson said TLG had been interested in the property for some time and that a change in “material circumstances” was behind the decision to rent it out.
The businessman was recently bereaved when his wife, Gillian, died of what was suspected at the time of being a heart attack.
As well as owning pubs and restaurants, Epic Group also organises trips to Old Trafford for north-east supporters of Manchester United, and Mrs Wilson was heavily involved in arranging those jaunts.
Mr Wilson said: “Thai Leisure came to me two years ago with an offer to lease the premises from me and I’ve been toying with the idea ever since. I thought there’s no better time than now to lease it out to an operator like Thai Leisure Group.
“It’s a very good boost for the city centre. It’s a very sought after location and one of the most desirable properties in the street.
“I had plenty of approaches in the past to lease out the premises and have declined them, but when an operator as healthy as TLG comes along it’s a good move for me.”
Mr Wilson also confirmed he had no plans to lease out any of the other bars or restaurants in Epic’s portfolio, which includes Espionage, the Priory, Prohibition and the Pearl Lounge.
TLG managing director Ian Leigh said the business was bringing its most high-end brand to Aberdeen.
He said: “A lot of people have questioned how strong Aberdeen is in light of the oil price drop, but we believe in it and have had a good experience with Thaikhun. We have confidence – otherwise we would not be doing it.”