The boss of Cromer pub and nightclub Buddies has sent a 'business as usual' message to customers amid speculation that it was set to close.

Gavin Armstrong said people were 'putting two and two together and making eight' after the Holt Road business was named in a public notice about liquidation.

The notice in the Eastern Daily Press advertised a meeting of the creditors of G R Armstrong Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd, trading as Buddies Bar and Lounge.

Managing director Mr Armstrong said: 'G R Armstrong Groundworks has gone bust. And because Buddies Bar and Lounge was a division of that, it had to be associated with it.

'But we are now trading as Buddies Bar and Lounge Ltd, and it is business as usual. I've just spent another �10,000 on the porch around the front.'

He also pointed out that he had submitted a planning application to North Norfolk District Council in the last few days to put in additional fire escape stairs to boost the number of people it could cater for upstairs.

Mr Armstrong said he had run the groundworks company for 14 years, but there had been a 'huge decline' in business.

He said: 'We would turn over �3m to �4m a year and it went down to nothing just like that.'

Mr Armstrong said trade had been good at Buddies since it opened on December 4 last year, with the facility busier now than in the summer months.

He added: 'We are looking forward to our first birthday on December 4. Come and join the party.'