Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, has confirmed that all 106 Beefeater pub-restaurants across the UK will close on September 10. The move is part of a five-year plan that will see the company focus exclusively on its hotel operations.
Four Merseyside locations affected
Among the hundreds of sites shutting down are four in the Liverpool City Region: Ocean Plaza Brewers Fayre in Southport, The Packet Steamer Beefeater in Bootle, Preston Brook Beefeater in Runcorn, and the Stag and Rainbow Beefeater on Queens Drive in Liverpool.
Job losses and restructuring
While Whitbread said most staff will be retained, 12% of employees from the closed locations will lose their jobs. The company plans to sell off £1.5bn of freehold properties, reducing owned properties from 50% to 30% of its portfolio. As part of a £250m restructuring, around 600 new Premier Inn rooms will be built inside converted restaurant spaces. Many former Beefeater sites will be transformed into smaller kitchens serving hotel guests only, ceasing to operate as public houses or walk-in restaurants.
CEO cites government policy
Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul attributed the closures to heavy cost pressures from government policy, including recent increases in business rates and employer National Insurance contributions, which he described as making the conventional pub-restaurant model "unsustainable".
Customer reactions
Speaking to the ECHO at the Stag and Rainbow, Lorraine Maddocks, 61, who had travelled from Derbyshire with her mum Joan Cassidy and friend Michael Henesy, a 91-year-old priest, said: "The staff were lovely, the food was brilliant and prices are good. But it wasn't very busy so you can understand [the closure] from an economic point of view." She added: "Anything empty is awful and especially when you think of the job losses."
A local mum-of-four from Tuebrook said the closure would be a loss for the community. "People are disappointed. I just think it's a shame we're going to lose it as a community because there's not many places around here," she said. Noting that other pubs in the area are "too adult" for families, she added: "It is handy if I'm out and about. It's family friendly so I can nip in with my boys and feed them. Some of the staff have been here for decades too."
