Bethnal Green pub once owned by the Kray twins gets new owner

An East End pub once owned by the Kray twins has a new guvnor.

The Carpenters Arms in Bethnal Green, which gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray bought in 1967, has changed hands for the first time in around a decade, the Evening Standard can reveal.

The brothers hosted parties and meetings at the Cheshire Street boozer, and Reggie had a drink there in October 1967 to settle his nerves before going to murder Jack McVitie.

Its new owner is independent publican Olivier Trotel Dimaria, who plans a light refurbishment.

He has bought the lease from the former tenants for £125,000 and will pay the private landlord £75,000 a year in rent.

Paul Tallentyre, director at property agent Davis Coffer Lyons which brokered the deal, said: “The new owner thinks the pub will get an influx of new customers when the nearby Whitechapel Crossrail station opens. The buyer was also impressed with the array of craft beers coming from east London, and plans to stock many of them.”