Heineken UK is set to invest £39m in reopening and upgrading its pubs, creating an estimated 1,075 new jobs.
Through the brewery’s Star Pubs arm, it plans to reopen 62 more pubs that have sat closed. By the end of the year it expects to have reopened 156 long-term closed locals since the start of 2023.
It also expects to upgrade 94 existing pubs, costing on average £200,000 each. Around a quarter of Heineken UK’s 2,400 pubs are in line for improvement.
Job creation and losses
Its plans are partially driven by the rise in home working, with Heineken set to focus on revamping pubs in suburban areas to entice those looking for an after-work pint.
Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs’ managing director, said: “People are looking for maximum value from visits to their local. They want great surroundings and food and drink as well as activities that give them an extra reason to go out, such as sports screenings and entertainment. Creating fantastic locals that can accommodate a range of occasions meets this need and helps pubs fulfil their role as vital third spaces where communities can come together.
“Pubs have proved their enduring appeal; after all the disruption of recent years, Star is on track to have the lowest number of closed pubs since 2019. It’s a tribute to the drive and entrepreneurship of licensees and the importance of continued investment. We’ve spent more than £200m upgrading and maintaining our pubs over the last five years, and we’ll continue to invest to keep them open and thriving.”
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Recent success stories include The Ashford Arms in Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire, which closed in March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic hit but has since reopened, creating 50 new jobs in the area, as well as The Ship in Worsbrough, Barnsley, which reopened in February creating 11 jobs.
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