Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams is to meet the receiver of a west Belfast pub chain tomorrow in a bid to save dozens of jobs.

John Hansen of KPMG in Belfast has been appointed receiver for Whitefort Inns which owns six pubs including The Whitefort Inn, The Red Devil, Celtic Bar, Henry Joys, The Foggy Dew and The Beehive.

Mr Hansen said: ‘Staff this week will be paid by the receiver and it is my intention that the licensed premises will trade as normal whilst I assess the viability of the business over the coming days .

“I will work with all concerned (including staff, suppliers, tenants and the public) in my efforts to protect the future of the business and hopefully secure a sale of the pubs as a going concern’

West Belfast MLA Paul Maskey, who will also be attending tomorrow’s meeting, said: “The fact that local business people in west and north Belfast are affected by the present economic difficulties is no surprise.

“We have been raising concerns for some time about the responsiveness of banks to the needs of small to medium sized enterprises who do not have the same financial cushion as larger firms.

“It would certainly appear that some banks, which have enjoyed financial stimulus packages, are still not sharing that financial support with local businesses.”

The recession, a squeeze on consumer spending, coupled with increased Government taxes and supermarkets selling alcohol as a loss leader has impacted on the pub trade.

A survey by the Federation of Retail Licensed Trade earlier this year revealed that one pub in every 20 in Northern Ireland expects to have to close by the end of the year, which could result in the demise of around 100 pubs.

Its chief executive Colin Neill has repeatedly warned that the industry is in crisis.

l.fergus@belfasttelegraph.co.uk