ONE of Irvine’s most iconic pubs is going under the hammer - at a cut-price starting fee.

The crumbling King’s Arms in High Street is set to be auctioned off next week in Glasgow.

Once on the market for £350,000, the former pub - which closed in May 2015 - is now open to bidders at a starting price of £185,000.

Star Pubs & Bars Ltd (a subsidiary of Heineken) bought the King’s a few months after the closure.

Talk also emerged of £600,000 worth of investment in the site after it was granted a premises licence by North Ayrshire Licensing Board.

The building has fallen into a state of disrepair and remains an eyesore in the town centre.

The owners, however, are now desperate to flog the ex-pub having been unable to attract any investors to take a punt on the C-Listed building in the town centre.

Without any outside investment, Star Pubs say they could not proceed with any new development.

The King’s will now go under auction at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow next week.

Around 30 members of staff at the King’s and Gables restaurant lost their jobs when the 60-year-old boozer closed.

The blame for its demise was laid on the arrival of The Auld Brig and the availability of cheap supermarket drink.

On the auction advert, the owners insist the rental potential on the property is £65,000 per year with options to let out the building as a restaurant, a pub or for other retail.