The Story of CASK Liverpool and The Coach House Mircopub

How Patrick Mills and Eric Mills of Liverpool CASK Defaulted on Their Payments

In the aftermath of COVID, we launched The Coach House by The Angus at 2b Maryland Street, Liverpool City Centre. Previously known as Hard Times & Misery, it was a fantastic small venue, but its size ultimately made it unviable for us. With a larger bar operation elsewhere in the city, we decided to sell The Coach House in early 2023.
This attracted interest from Eric Mills and Patrick Mills, a father-and-son duo who operate CASK Liverpool Mircopub, located at 438 Queens Dr, Liverpool L13 0AR. They expressed keen interest in expanding their CASK brand and after meeting us they agreed to purchase The Coach House, including the lease, fixtures, fittings, and goodwill and rebranded it The CASK Coach House.
The deal was structured as a payment plan facilitated by both parties' solicitors and a sales agent. Unfortunately, this is where the problems began.

From the start, Eric Mills and Patrick Mills of Liverpool CASK struggled to meet their financial commitments. They missed their early payment dates, and within months, cash transfers from Eric Mills became even more inconsistent before stopping entirely. Despite multiple amicable attempts to contact Patrick Mills, the guarantor of the deal, he ignored every effort to resolve the issue.
Legal action became our only option. We took Mills' company to court —a case we won by default because no one responded or challenged the case. Meanwhile, despite their financial struggles and inability to pay us, they found the means to purchase a third pub, The Bard in Prescot, proudly boasting in the Liverpool ECHO:
"I fell in love with this pub, so I went and bought it." – Patrick Mills
As the bailiffs moved into Maryland Street to enforce our court judgment, Patrick and Eric Mills abandoned The Cask Coach House. Their company was wound up, and the landlord posted an eviction notice on the premises.

Liverpool CASK Micropub Owners Patrick Mills & Eric Mills: A Pattern of Failure

With The Coach House debacle unresolved, we turned to our legally binding agreement. Patrick Mills, the official guarantor, was expected to settle the debt. He didn’t. He ignored multiple payment requests, legal correspondence, another court proceeding (which was also ruled in our favour and resulted in a CCJ) and debt-collectors to the family home in Huyton.
Around this time, their financial mismanagement caught up with them. They lost control of the recently bought and rembranded CASK Bard bar, leaving them with just CASK on Queens Drive and a trail of unpaid debts and failed businesses.

A Warning to Future Business Owners Dealing with CASK Liverpool Family of bars

As of today, March 2025 —nearly two years later—we have still not been paid in full, with interest and legal costs accumulating daily.
We are continuing to pursue this, but in the meantime this page remains as a public record of how Patrick Mills and Eric Mills of Liverpool CASK failed to honour a legally binding agreement and abandoned their responsibilities.
If you are considering doing business with CASK Liverpool, Patrick Mills, or Eric Mills, be very, very cautious. Or at the very least, get paid up front.