Pig & Whistle

Failing pub turned around in competitive Liverpool city centre

Star Pubs' Investment: £300,000
Previous turnover: £100,00
Expected annual revenue following investment: £600,000

Once an 18th-century boarding house and brothel, The Pig & Whistle takes its name from the bars used by ship crews. It originally served dockworkers and seafarers throughout the past century. By 2025, after many iterations, both the décor and fabric of the building were in dire need of repair to meet modern customer expectations. 

Uniquely occupying a stand-alone corner plot in an up-and-coming area of the city, The Pig & Whistle had the potential to tap into Liverpool’s business district drinking circuit – a diverse mix of tourists and day trippers to residents, pensioners and after-work professionals.

The three-story pub, once renowned for it’s derelict appearance, had new signage, paintwork and a planned mural signifying a change in operations.  Internally, the pub was vastly in need of a face-lift, was completely revamped with a new bar, seating, decoration, toilets and windows.

Bobby Dix, the new licensee of the Pig & Whistle, had been running the pub on a temporary agreement for a few months when Star approached him and his business partner with a new proposal to invest in the business.  

Bobby’s boundless energy, with a special love of the pub’s chequered history, made him the obvious candidate to take pub onto it’s next chapter. Bobby came armed with a suite of fun, original ideas to drive trade (such as playing with the fact that it is a pub with two postcodes!) and contributed his own thoughts to the final investment scheme design and finish. Whilst never having ran his own pub business, the combination of Bobby’s enthusiasm and the backing of his hospitality-focussed business partner convinced the Star team that he could take the pub onto the next level, with turnover surpassing all expectations.