A HARRY Potter-inspired bar in Horwich has had to change its name under pressure from Warner Brothers which owns the rights to the franchise.

The Crux Emporium in Lee Lane, formerly called ‘Horcrux Emporium’, opened in October to provide Bolton with a magical cocktail experience but has since gained international attention.

Warner Brothers contacted owner Tom Benson on Monday giving him until the end of the week to remove all references to the brand unless he applied for a licence from the company.

After deciding that the licence would be too expensive, Tom proposed two alternative names on a Facebook poll: the Horcrucé Emporium and the Crux Emporium.

He said: “We’ve got such a good reputation just as a bar — nothing to do with the theme — we’re a trusted place to come for a drink. So I was honest with people and I used our social influence online.”

Although the bar’s ‘army’ of fans put forward other names such as The Place That Should Not Be Named and Diagonally, Tom wants to comply with film giant’s demands.

He said: “Anything that can be associated with Potter, even small insinuations, they’re being picky about and I just don’t want to risk it. “But it’s freedom of speech, so people can call it what they want.”

On Friday, Tom happily announced that Crux Emporium won the poll and will be the new name.

“If you look at the definition of crux it is a pivotal point, or a difficult decision to make, which is exactly what this has been,” he said.

Tom has also had to remove associated decorations and change the names of five cocktails that make reference to the brand such as Dumbledore’s Password and Butter Beer.

Ironically, Tom says, the intervention by Warner Brothers and the resulting name change has increased the bar’s social media engagement.

“At its height last week our engagement was 49,000. For a tiny bar in Horwich, it’s quite a significant influx.”

Whilst the bar can no longer be Harry Potter inspired, Tom says that the bar will still inevitably be associated with the brand.

“It’s still magically inspired. The idea is still the same. As soon as you mention anything magical, even if you’re not into it, everyone knows what it is.”

The Bolton-born owner who attended Bolton School claims that the bar puts his hometown on the map, giving it some credibility.

“I’m just happy that it’s bringing people to Bolton, it’s something positive,” he said. “I think the last time Bolton was this popular was when Bolton were in Europe as a football team.”

Since opening five months ago, Tom was approached by a New Zealand PR firm, a Swedish newspaper and, most recently, a drinks company interested in stocking their products.

Tom said: “We were inundated by a number of people from Sweden saying they wanted to come see us. We had a couple from Australia. We had people from LA, from New York, developers and investors, who want to meet me and bring a concept over there. It’s nuts.”