A Lewisham councillor has claimed Antic, the company running the pub and restaurant at the Catford Constitutional Club, “runs pubs into the ground.”

This came during an overview and scrutiny committee where councillors asked Mayor Damien Egan about plans for the locally listed building, following news part of the building will be developed into flats.

The council-owned property is in disrepair, with restoration costs estimated to be around  £1.5 million, Mayor Damien Egan explained.

It needs both wind and water repairs, a “major expenditure which if a full job was done, would cost more than three times the value of the property,” according to a council report.

News of the redevelopment has caused concern in the community, with the pub a much-loved venue, but Lewisham Council has maintained any development plans will include a pub.

But Cllr Eva Stamirowski said the council “should not be on any level an authority that supports a company like Antic.”

She said: “Everyone here knows Antic was the company running the Catford Constitutional Club. Most people do know they got it at peppercorn rent and they were supposed to have done all sorts of building works to the property.

“They’ve not been done and the pub is certainly dilapidated, [with a] leaking roof. I don’t even know if it’s that safe of a building.

“People maybe don’t know that Antic is actually known for being a company that runs pubs into the ground.

“They are known for doing it. They don’t spend any money on their properties, it’s all about making money.

“I think the initial momentum has come from Antic themselves, writing a petition. It’s not the first time they have started a petition against the council, it’ll be the second or third time they’ve done that. Also people should know they don’t pay the living wage and they refuse to pay the living wage and we should not be on any level an authority that supports a company like Antic,” she added.

Commenting on a petition supporting the pub at the Catford Constitutional Club, she said: “Quite frankly any petition…is misguided to say the least.

“We would never dream of getting rid of a pub there. We wouldn’t want to knock a building like that down,” she added.

But Antic founder, Anthony Thomas, strongly refuted claims the company runs pubs into the ground.

“There is no evidence for it. If you look at any of the pubs we have saved: Catford Bridge Tavern we saved from becoming a Tesco.”

He said their two-year lease for the building ended in September, during which Antic had spent a “substantial amount on the building” which had been empty for a number of years.

“It was a derelict building, it’s amazing we have got it open. The whole central part had collapsed, the roof had collapsed.”

He said most of the work had been short-term fixes because of the nature of a short-term lease.

Antic are holding over at the Catford Constitutional Club.