Bad news first: Bill’s is not returning to Putney. We got that wrong.
The good news: another restaurant chain is in negotiations to take over the site and could open in the new year.
On Saturday, we reported that a licensing application from Bills Restaurants Limited meant the popular brunch spot was “set to return” to its old home at 146-148 Putney High Street. The story made sense – the chain has been expanding again after years of closures, and had recently reopened a Leicester site it had previously shut.
Turns out we were wrong – apologies – Bill’s is in fact renewing its licence in order to sell up to a different company, as yet unnamed.
Nicola Grant, chief executive of the Positively Putney business improvement district, confirmed that Bill’s has been trying to exit the site, not return to it. “This is not going to reopen as Bill’s,” she noted. “They have been looking to reassign the lease and have nearly completed a number of times over the last year.”
The licensing application, she explained, is to maintain the premises licence – making it easier to attract a new hospitality operator. A restaurant without a licence is far less attractive to potential tenants than one with permissions already in place.
“They have spoken to various restaurant chains over the last year,” Grant said. “Hopefully the current one they are in discussion with will sign and open in the new year.”
An honest mistake
Our mistake was assuming that because Bills Restaurants Limited submitted the licensing application, Bill’s must be planning to trade there again.
Chair of the Putney Society, Robert Arguile, spotted the flaw immediately, pointing out that this was likely a “shadow licence” – a second licence obtained to protect the property’s licensed status for a future tenant.
Bill’s still holds the lease on the property, so they would be the applicant even if the purpose was to maintain value for whoever takes over.
The Putney High Street site has sat empty since Bill’s closed in 2023 as part of a nationwide cull of underperforming restaurants. It had served Putney for around a decade.
We contacted Bill’s for comment last week and are still waiting to hear back.
