Heineken to invest £39m in new pubs
The revamps are designed to broaden each pub’s use and appeal, subtle zoning will signpost pub goers to the area likely to suit them best, from watching sports to dining
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Heineken has announced that it is set to invest £39m to upgrade and reopen a number of pubs in its Star Pubs estate in 2024.
A quarter (612) of Heineken UK’s 2,400 pubs are in line for improvement, with 94 of these set for makeovers costing on average £200,000.
The investment will also cover works to reopen 62 long-term closed locals in 2024.
By the end of the year, Heineken UK will have reopened 156 such pubs since the start of 2023, reducing the number of closed pubs in its estate to pre-pandemic levels.
The revamps are designed to broaden each pub’s use and appeal, subtle zoning will signpost pub goers to the area likely to suit them best, from watching sports to dining.
Substantial projects will feature energy efficiency measures, such as heating controls, insulation and low-energy lighting, that will typically cost £12,500 per pub and cut energy use by 15%.
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.”
He added: “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. Time and again we see the value consumers place on having a good local and how important it is to communities. Well-invested pubs run by great licensees are here to stay, but like all locals, they need Government support to reduce the enormous tax burden they shoulder.”
