UK’s biggest brewer to open 30 more pubs across country | UK | News
The UK’s biggest brewer has announced it will open 30 more pubs across the UK after reaching a major milestone. Greene King said its franchise division, Greene King Pub Partners, now has 100 franchised pubs, just four years after opening its first site.
The company has opened 30 new franchise pubs in 2025, including its first location in Scotland, and now plans to expand further across Britain. Penelope Bruce, director of franchise operations at Pub Partners, said: “We are delighted to have reached the magic number of 100 franchised pubs. “Just four years after launching our first Hive Pub, our franchise offer continues to grow.
“After expanding into Scotland for the first time, we have plans to open a further 30 franchised pubs in Wales in 2026.
“We continue to see great interest in our pub franchise agreements from experienced pub managers who want to take the leap and run their own pub business and we are actively seeking applicants to run the pubs in our development.”
Pubs opening in 2025 included The Tarbet in Edinburgh, the company’s first franchise site in Scotland, as well as The Dolphin in Melbourne, Cambridgeshire, and The Two Poplars in Wokingham, Berkshire.
The expansion will see a further 30 franchise sites opened under the Hive Pub and Nest Pub models, with experienced pub managers invited to apply to run these venues.
The company also hired two business development executives to cover the franchise’s expanding geography.
Research by accountants Price Bailey found 8,605 pubs are currently operating with negative assets; of these, around 4,800 were classed in the highest credit risk category – around 13% of all pubs and at risk of winding up petitions.
Operators remain under pressure from rising energy bills, increases in the National Living Wage and higher National Insurance costs, while fragile consumer demand as households cut spending has also hit trade negatively.
Hospitality leaders warn that pubs are being squeezed between rising fixed costs and declining customer spending, with 181 pub bankruptcies recorded across Britain in the last three months of 2025 alone.
