Water leaking into the roof of Wilko's led a club owner to discover a burglar had been busy stripping wiring and piling up copper piping during the pandemic
Kevin Spencer owned Legacy nightclub in Clumber Street, Mansfield, for two years but it was "effectively in mothballs" awaiting reopening, said Siward James Moore, prosecuting.
Mr Spencer had previously checked the building and it was in good condition with no leaks.
But he later received a call from police to notify him about the leak into Wilko and it was deduced the water was coming from the club.
Water had poured from the boiler into Wilko.
It was clear the offender or offenders had switched the electrics off and stripped off large amounts of wiring from the business.
Mr Spencer found copper piping stacked up.
A screwdriver and pliers had the DNA of the culprit, convicted thief Bernard Williams, on them.
Williams, 30, of Gorman Close, Newbold, Chesterfield, went on to plead guilty to burglary of a commercial property between March 30 and April 6 last year.
Mr James Moore said the offence was not a "five-minute job" to strip the premises.
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Amphetamine and a bundle of Stanley knife blades were found on Williams after arrest - offences which were dealt with previously at the magistrates' court and resulted in a suspended prison sentence for Williams.
Mr James Moore spoke about the effect on the club and, "the reality is Mr Spencer invested a significant amount of money in this enterprise and he is unable to continue with it".
"His estimate was somewhere between £80,000 and £100,000 to remove and replumb the property, but it is not viable to continue the business.
"He says although he has lost money he invested, it was a limited company".
Collectively his other businesses will absorb the loss and he says "it is a victimless crime," added Mr James Moore at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, January 14.
The repairs to Wilko cost just over £4,000 due to the water leaks to the property.
James Horne, mitigating, said Williams was a full-time carer for his partner and receives carer's allowance.
Since the burglary, Williams, who had been homeless and living in a tent at the time, has "moved on in a positive way", added Mr Horne.
"He has done all he can do to turn the clock back to 2015 when he put offending behind him".
Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, the Recorder of Nottingham, said if Williams appeared before him for burgling someone's home, he would be going to custody.
"This is a burglary of commercial premises. I repeat, that does not make it a trivial offence.
"Frustratingly enough for the operator of these premises, it was closed during the pandemic and damage caused, so it is not financially viable for the operator to reopen.
"The loss caused appears to be substantial. Although some uncertainty to that, the insurance position is a little unclear. But there is no doubt there was substantial damage. It was no doubt a targeted burglary, although to some extent opportunistic".
He said Williams had demonstrated a capacity to "stay out of trouble".
Williams received 18 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a four-month curfew between the hours of 9pm and 6am.
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