197 Restaurants Shutting as Two Major UK Chains Disappear Across Country

Whitbread, the parent company of Premier Inn, has announced the closure of 197 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, resulting in the loss of nearly 3,800 jobs. The closures affect the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre brands, two iconic pub chains that will disappear from high streets.

Reason for Closures

The company plans to exit all remaining branded restaurants to focus on becoming a pure-play hotel business centered on Premier Inn. CEO Dominic Paul cited significant cost increases from National Insurance and business rates hikes as the driving factor. Over 200 branded restaurants have already been converted into additional hotel rooms in 2024, a move that proved highly popular with guests.

Support for Affected Staff

A Whitbread spokesperson said: "As a business which recruits around 15,000 people every year, we expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible. We will do all we can to support those colleagues affected."