A former NFL star has become wrapped up in a public row over the ownership of “one of the UK’s prettiest pubs,” which he is currently the landlord of.
Lorne Sam previously played American football for the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos, but he left that life far behind and became the landlord of The Carrington Arms in Leicestershire, which claims to be “probably the prettiest” pub in the country.
In a public row that has now gone to court, Sam alleged that he is being “treated differently” than the pub’s previous tenants because of his race and because he is American.
The other party in this battle is Alex Stroud, a descendant of the Smith-Carington family, local lords of the manor, and a controller of the land trust that owns the pub.
Stroud denied Sam’s lawyers’ claims that the root of the dispute stems from Sam being “American and black,” calling them “ludicrous”.
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Stroud, 54, is trying to evict Sam’s company, Carrington Hospitality Ltd, on the grounds that he owes £13,000 in rent. Sam, 39, said there was a falling out with the owners over the interior design of the pub which forced him to close. Sam’s lawyer, Philip Noble, said this was built up before Sam took over, and there had already been a payment made to clear the pub’s debt.
Noble wrote to Leicester County Court to explain that when Sam took over the pub near Melton Mowbray, he was visited by Stroud and his wife Lucy, who “informed him of how the decor of the pub should be improved to their taste and how the catering could be improved to cater for their friends following shooting parties” on the estate.
He added: “They asked Lorne Sam to carry out other improvements to the decor and finish in the property, despite no such improvements being necessary or required under the lease. They made it plain that they relied [on] the pub to host post-shooting parties … and asked Lorne Sam to organise the kitchen to cater for those demands.”
Sam alleged that in August he was “being treated differently to the previous tenants and raised the possibility that that treatment might be because of his race and colour,” but instead the land trust became “determined to exclude the defendant from the premises.”
Russell Davies, solicitor for the members of the land trust, denied that Sam had been treated differently. He said the Strouds regularly visited the pub as they are locals and were “keen to encourage the success of the business”.
He also denied “that they sought to direct” Sam’s business and highlighted that Stroud organised and paid for recarpeting and the installation of new pipework and a radiator, “despite being under no obligation to do so”.
Davies said “reasonable and proportionate” attempts to get the rent money back had been made, but Carington Hospitality Ltd had not stuck to the agreed repayment schedule.
In emails between Sam and Stroud, which Sam later posted on the pub’s Facebook page, Stroud said: “Lucy and I were delighted from day one and we have welcomed you with open arms. Any suggestions of you being treated differently because of the colour of your skin or your nationality is deeply offensive, massively upsetting and ludicrous.”
