The Black Dog: Who owns London pub mentioned by Taylor Swift in Tortured Poets album?

Taylor Swift fans have been flocking to a south London pub after the megastar made a reference to it in her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department.

The Black Dog in Vauxhall has seen a surge in customers since the album dropped at the end of last week, with reports that it has had to turn “Swifties” away because of the high demand.

Singing about a man entering the pub, thought to be ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, Taylor Swift sings in track 17, The Black Dog: “I am someone who until recent events you shared your secrets with and your location.

“You forgot to turn it off. And so I watch as you walk into some bar called The Black Dog.”

The operating company behind the pub, Hic-Up Ltd, has been in liquidation since May 2023 with an estimated deficiency to its creditors of more than £2.6m, according to a document filed with Companies House.

The firm’s only director is named as Jamie Sulkin who acquired New York-inspired restaurant group Dirty Bones out of administration during the same month last year.

Sulkin secured the deal for £612,000 through DB Opco Ltd, which also lists Robert Clarke as a co-founder.

A firm called Hard Yards Global holds a stake of more than 75 per cent in DB Opco Ltd, according to Companies House.

Last week Lloyds Bank has issued an “urgent warning” to customers over a wave of ticket scams targeted at Taylor Swift fans, which it estimated has already cost Brits £1m.

The bank said that as of last month, more than 600 of its group’s customers had reported being scammed for tickets to the upcoming UK leg of Swift’s Eras Tour since they went on sale last July.

It found the average value of each scam was £332 but said some customers had lost more than £1,000.

Based on Lloyds Banking Group’s current account market share of around 20 per cent, the bank estimated there had been at least 3,000 total victims across the UK and more than £1m lost.