Greene King, the UK’s leading pub company and brewer, has invested almost £42m into 130 of its pubs and smokehouse restaurants in the first six months of the year.
Around £24m has been invested in 62 pubs in the Greene King managed estate, comprising Greene King pubs and Destination Brands, despite the challenging economic environment facing the pub sector.
Stand out projects include a £1.1m investment at the historic Railway pub by Liverpool Street station in London, which saw a full refurbishment to accommodate customers for all occasions from breakfast through to the night, for business meetings or to enjoy live TV sports; showing pubs are more than just a place to have a drink. Over the period, Greene King also invested in its second Farmhouse Kitchen site in the UK, Silkwood Park in Wakefield, bringing an elevated dining experience for customers.
The rollout of Hickory’s continues, with plans to open a total of 10 restaurants throughout 2025. This builds on the six new smokehouses which were opened throughout 2024.
Across Greene King Pub Partners – Greene King’s leased, tenanted and franchise division – almost £9m has been invested across 63 pubs – 18 of which are newly opened franchise sites. Notable franchise site refurbishments include the Anchor in Walsworth and the Turf & Feather in Birchwood.
The beginning of 2025 also saw Pub Partners launch its franchise businesses in Scotland, with the first Nest pub at the Tarbet, Edinburgh and first Hive pub, and largest spend to date, at the Stables in Stenhousemuir.
Nick Mackenzie, CEO of Greene King, said: “We are determined to offer our customers the best pub experience and so it is important to maintain momentum in our investment plans despite the challenging wider economic environment.
“We have some brilliant pubs in great locations and we want to make the most out of our bricks and mortar so our pub teams can thrive in the best settings and give our customers great hospitality and fantastic experiences.
“Customers appreciate the efforts we go to in making their local the best it can be and we intend to keep investing in our estate and maximising the potential of our brands and assets. However, we can only continue to do this if the government supports the sector so it is given the potential to thrive.”
In 2024 (January – June), there were a total of 36 managed pub projects, totalling about £26m, including a seven-figure investment at The Chef & Brewer Wheatsheaf Hotel in Virginia Water. Greene King invested almost £9m across Pub Partners sites in the first half of 2024, totalling 96 projects.
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