UK restaurant chain announces 106 closures – 30,000 jobs affected | UK | News
A popular UK restaurant chain has announced the permanent closure of all 106 of its restaurants. Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants will collectively close their doors at 200 locations and all 106 Beefeater establishments will be closed.
The approval came in April from Whitbread, which also owns Premier Inn. However, specific details regarding the batch closures and affected staff implications have now been shared by the company. Whitbread officials confirmed that around 30,000 employees were put at risk due to the closures and that the customer loyalty program would end in August.
The loyalty program will end on 31 August and Beefeater restaurants’ last trading day is set for 10 September.
Dominic Paul, managing director of Whitbread, said: “We plan to transform all our remaining branded restaurants into the integrated food and drink offer preferred by our hotel guests, paving the way for the addition of higher margin expansion rooms.
“Our continued efforts to improve our commercial plan and efficiency will expand our market leading position and allow us to capture share from our competitors, many of whom are struggling to grow.”
The reason for the closure is believed to be because the firm wanted to focus solely on Premier Inn properties. An earlier statement from Whitbread reader: “This change will involve exiting all our remaining branded restaurants, which trade under brands such as Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, some of which will be converted into approximately 600 additional Premier Inn rooms, with the remainder expected to be sold as a going concern.
