Greene King to offload 150 pubs in strategy shake up

Greene King is shaking up its estate with plans to sell 150 sites and convert a further 150 into tenanted or franchised venues.

The pub operator said it had evaluated its entire portfolio of around 2,500 pubs with the intention to focus on investment, maximising profitability and growth.

As part of this evaluation it has identified around 300 sites to move to a different operation model, with around half of these sites converted to leased and tenanted, or franchise venues under its Pub Partners estate which currently includes 1,000 sites.

While the 300 sites transition they will be transferred to a new business unit which will allow Greene King to run the sites on a “simplified model, with a renewed focus on maximising financial returns”.

The pub group has also identified a small number of sites for closure – representing fewer than 2% of the managed estate, in line with the group’s typical annual activity.

By optimising its managed estate, Greene King will be able to reinvest into its core portfolio.

It also plans to adopt a centralised operations structure, alongside investing in technology, including around £35m to drive customer loyalty.

Nick Mackenzie, CEO of Greene King, said: “We are confident that our new pub estate strategy will set us up to deliver sustainable profitable growth for the long-term as consumer habits continue to evolve and the operating environment remains dynamic.

“The realignment of our estate – which leverages our strategically important Pub Partners business – enables us to play to the strengths of our brands, capitalise on our investment in digital and loyalty, invest effectively in our core portfolio and most importantly continue to deliver exceptional experiences for our customers.”