According to an interview with The Times, the former James Bond actor has taken on the pub with Jones, Carroll and Justin O’Shea, creative director of beer brand Bad Belze.
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The move marks Craig’s first pub venture, although he has family links to the trade, with both his father and grandparents having previously run pubs.
The Horseshoe had been run by Pauline and Richard Tucker for 36 years. The new team is due to take control this week, with plans to refurbish the site while retaining its traditional pub character.
Pub plans
Craig told The Times the aim was to keep the Clerkenwell site as “a boozer”, with a simple food offer downstairs, including bar snacks, and a larger dining room upstairs.
The building also includes an upstairs darts room, a beer garden and other rooms expected to be remodelled as part of the wider refurbishment.
Carroll, founder of Flat Iron and part of the team behind the Devonshire in Soho, number one pub on the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list, will oversee the food offer once the refurbishment is complete, which is expected to take about a year.
The venue is also expected to serve Bad Belze, the lager brand quietly launched by Craig and O’Shea earlier this year.
Celebrity pub operators
The deal comes amid continued interest in celebrity-backed pubs, with Jeremy Clarkson having opened the Farmer’s Dog in Oxfordshire in 2024.
Clarkson recently told the Conservative Party conference he would consider opening a second pub, but questioned the trading environment for businesses in the UK.
Singer James Blunt has also expanded his pub interests, taking on The Carpenters Arms in Hammersmith after previously buying The Fox & Pheasant in Chelsea.
Speaking on the new venture, Carroll told The Times it was a challenging time for pubs, but said central London was in a “relatively fortunate position” for operators able to deliver strong basics in historic sites with character.
