A supermarket has snubbed claims it has bought a city Wetherspoon pub which was sold.

The Cliftonville Inn, in George Street, Hove, closed on Monday after being sold.

It has not yet confirmed who has purchased the venue, which was sold with all fixtures and fittings apart from tills and IT equipment.

The pub was put up for sale in September last year, along with 31 others listed for sale by the national Wetherspoon chain last year.

There have been claims the site was bought by Tesco, with hopes of it becoming a new Express store.

This would be just 115 metres away from the Tesco Superstore in Church Road, Hove.

The supermarket has snubbed the claims, confirming that it has not purchased the recently sold pub.

It added that it has not got plans to purchase the venue in the future.

The pub in Hove was one of four in the city. The other three are The Post and Telegraph in North Street, The West Quay in Brighton Marina Village and The Bright Helm in West Street.

In a statement to The Argus yesterday, Eddie Gershon, spokesman for Wetherspoon, said: “We can confirm that The Cliftonville Inn pub has closed.

“We thank our customers and staff for their loyalty over the years.”