Former Ribble Valley Inn the Three Fishes to close

The Three Fishes in Mitton, Lancashire, which was sold by Northcote Group to Brunning & Price last year, is to close.

The pub was the first of the Ribble Valley Inns when it was acquired in 2004 by the then joint managing directors of Northcote, Craig Bancroft and Nigel Haworth. Ribble Valley Inns eventually growing into a collection of six pubs.

Brunning & Price, the pub division of the Restaurant Group, bought the Three Fishes in June 2018 along with the Clog & Billycock in Blackburn, the Highwayman in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria and the Bull at Broughton.

A statement on the Three Fishes Facebook page confirmed the closure.
It said: "We are afraid that we bring you the news that we will be closing our doors for the last time at 11pm on Monday 6th May.

"For many staff and customers alike, this is the end of an era and we would like to thank you all for your custom over the years; it's been a pleasure to serve you. We hope, like us, you will take away many fond memories of visits past or time spent working with us over the last 15 years."

At the time of the acquisition Brunning & Price managing director Mary Willcock said: "We have admired Ribble Valley Inns for many years and believe that these well-known and long-established businesses are perfectly positioned geographically for us to enhance our presence in the north of England. As always, we feel that a pub should retain its own personal character and look forward to working with the teams locally to ensure they prosper and thrive in the coming months and years."

Since taking on Ribble Valley Inns, Brunning & Price has refurbished and relaunched the the Highwayman, the Clog and Billycock and the Bull.