THE owner of a Barrow venue has spoken of the 'soul-destroying' heartbreak of having to cancel the launch of a new £30,000 bar just hours before it was due to take place.

Young entrepreneur Liam Quigley took over the Custom House last August and has invested a six-figure sum into the popular restaurant and party venue.

As well as recruiting up to 42 new members of staff earlier this year Mr Quigley revealed plans to spend £30,000 converting the One Restaurant into a cocktail bar.

Called Cherry’s, in a nod to his mum’s unwavering support, the new bar was set to be unveiled on Saturday at a spectacular launch event featuring Jägermeister-dispensing ice sculptures shaped in the Cherry’s logo.

But just hours before he was due to throw open the doors of his latest venture Mr Quigley, 26, was forced to call it off following a dispute with a furniture supplier.

“A couple of weeks ago we decided we would have a big extravagant launch night,” Mr Quigley said.

“We were told it would be ready by the end of May but because the designer claims a supplier has been unable to deliver on time it’s not ready.

“Im really happy with all the work that’s been done so far but this is just so frustrating because it’s been a long time in the planning.

“We started the work in April and we’ve spent about £30,000 on the new bar. "

Mr Quigley is now considering taking legal action against the supplier.

“We’ve spent thousands on this launch night; it’s completely soul-destroying,” he added.

The team has since posted an update on the Custom House’s Facebook page explaining the reason for the delay.

“I didn’t want anyone to think this was our doing, or something we could have prevented, and as this is my first restaurant,” Mr Quigley said. “It’s really upsetting; not just for me but for the rest of the staff too, we’ve all put so much time and effort into this new bar.

“The One Restaurant hadn’t been doing as well as it should have been and this new bar would have really revitalised the venue and offered something a bit different to Barrow.”

Mr Quigley hopes to resolve the furniture supply issue as quickly as possible and intends to announce a new launch event in the very near future once a completion date is agreed.