The company behind the Eight Bells at Hawkhurst passed a winding-up resolution on 18 August, ten days after the pub shut. Two liquidators from Begbies Traynor are appointed.

The company that took on the Eight Bells at Hawkhurst has gone into liquidation, ten days after the pub closed its doors.

Over The Eight Pub Group Limited passed a written resolution to wind up voluntarily on 18 August. The resolution was published in The Gazette, the official public record, on 24 August.

The pub sits on The Moor at Hawkhurst, TN18 4NX, in the south of the Tunbridge Wells borough and about 12 miles east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The company’s registered office and its principal trading address are both given in the notice as that address.

What the record shows

The Gazette notice records the following:

  • the resolution was circulated to members on 7 August 2026 and took effect on 18 August 2026
  • David Lawrence Birne and Stephen Katz, both of BTG Begbies Traynor (London) LLP in Finchley, were appointed joint liquidators
  • the company’s number is 15559879, and its previous name was Lakedown Pub Group Limited

An earlier notice, published on 12 August, called a virtual meeting of creditors for 3pm on 18 August under rule 15.13 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016. Creditors had to lodge proof of their claims by 4pm the day before to vote on who should be appointed.

Companies House still lists the company as active. That is normal. The register is only updated once the liquidator files, so The Gazette runs ahead of it.

The filing history shows the company was incorporated on 13 March 2024 with £75 of share capital. It moved its registered office to The Moor at Hawkhurst on 13 August 2024, and the certificate for the change of name was issued on 14 August 2024. Its only accounts were filed on 1 December 2025 and cover the year to 31 March 2025.

Timeline of Over The Eight Pub Group Limited, from incorporation to the winding-up resolution

The pub

CAMRA’s pub database records the Eight Bells as closed long term from 8 August 2026, with the note “closed, seeking new tenants” and a line saying the operator was unable to make things work in current conditions.

No establishment at the pub’s postcode, TN18 4NX, now appears on the Food Standards Agency’s register, and no premises named Eight Bells appears anywhere in the Tunbridge Wells borough listings. Businesses normally drop off that register once they stop trading and de-register. The council’s licensing partnership last recorded a change of designated premises supervisor at the Eight Bells in June 2024, under reference 24/02667/LAPDPS.

What it means for you

  • The pub is shut and there is no reopening date on any public record. The CAMRA entry says new tenants are being sought, so on that record the building is being offered to another operator rather than given up.
  • If you are owed money, or you hold a deposit or a gift voucher, you are a creditor of the company. Claims go to the joint liquidators at BTG Begbies Traynor, and the Gazette notice gives a contact for further information.
  • Staff who have lost their jobs can claim redundancy pay, notice pay and unpaid wages from the Insolvency Service through the Redundancy Payments Service. The liquidator issues the case reference you need.
  • Any change of use at the site, or a new licence for whoever takes it on, would show up on the borough’s planning and licensing registers. We track new applications on our planning news page.

Being in liquidation is not a finding against anyone. A creditors’ voluntary liquidation is a decision by the company’s own members, and the notices above are the formal record of it.