Southsea pub The Wave Maiden launches fundraiser to stay afloat during coronavirus crisis

The Wave Maiden, in Osborne Road, has raised more than £2,000 since it set up the fundraising page on Friday April 3.

It comes as the national lockdown, and uncertainty over how long it will last, has left owners Ali and Paul Lees no choice but to cancel all the events – from gigs to weddings – that were due to take place from April to June.

And the pair are looking at cancellations up to 2021, losing more than 100 events over the next nine months, according to Ali.

The 44-year-old said: ‘Bouncing back from this is going to be extremely difficult. It’s heart breaking.’

‘We have applied for grants from the government, but even with that money, and having wages covered, we will be in a bad position.

‘We got a letter from our insurance provider that they wouldn’t cover any costs unless we have a break-out on the property.

‘We are waiting to hear from our landlord about our rent.

‘We are in a really bad position.’

The pub, opened in 2014, has retained its 12 members of staff, who have been placed on furlough pay of 80 per cent of their average wage.

Paul Lees, who served in the Royal Navy for 25 years as an aircraft maintenance technician and remains in the service as a civil servant, said: ‘We are spending hours and hours on the phone with HMRC.

‘We cannot complain about that – we understand they are inundated.

‘We are not in the red at the moment, but it is something we are facing.’

The owners have also applied for support grants from the government and administered through Portsmouth City Council, with the pair being told to expect a response by ‘the early part of April’.

‘But we’ve not heard anything – we have no ideas when we will hear back,’ Paul added.

The Wave Maiden’s fundraising page asks for anyone ‘who would normally pop in for a pint (to) perhaps get one for us now' by giving a small donation.

Messages from supporters are helping to keep the team optimistic, according to Ali.

She said: ‘We are trying to remain hopeful.’

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan nominated the venue for the Parliamentary Pub of the Year 2020 award.

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