Whitbread to close all 106 Beefeater restaurants in major restructure

Whitbread is closing all 106 Beefeater restaurant sites this week as part of a major five-year business restructure. The move follows the recent closure of all Brewers Fayre restaurants and earlier shutdowns of Bar + Block, Table Table, and Cookhouse + Pub locations.

The restructuring aims to transform Whitbread into a ‘pure-play hotel business’ to drive higher margins. The company plans to convert some restaurant sites into additional Premier Inn rooms and expects to sell approximately £1.5 billion in freehold property to fund its hotel expansion. Whitbread currently operates about 86,600 hotel rooms and targets 96,000 by the 2031 financial year.

The strategic shift puts roughly 3,800 jobs at risk across Whitbread’s UK and Ireland operations, which employ approximately 30,000 people. Chief Executive Dominic Paul cited significant cost increases in national insurance and business rates as factors in the decision to maximize long-term value.