Whitbread closes the last of its branded restaurants this week. Bar and Block, Table Table, Cookhouse and Pub and Whitbread Inns shut on 3 September. All Brewers Fayre restaurants close on 7 September. All Beefeater restaurants close on 10 September.
The dates are confirmed on Whitbread's own group news page. According to CLH News, 261 sites are closing across the five brands: 106 Beefeater, 89 Brewers Fayre and 66 across the other three.
01What happens to the buildings
Whitbread says some sites will become Premier Inn restaurants inside the hotel. It plans to add around 600 extra hotel rooms across the estate.
Beyond that, less is settled than the coverage suggests. According to CLH News, 53 sites have been sold to Queensway Inns. The buyer plans to reopen them as value pubs. The future of the remaining 208 has not been confirmed. Whitbread has not ruled out further disposals.
Whitbread has not said that any of those sites are going on the open market.
02Why buyers are watching
A block sale of 53 sites tells you Whitbread will deal at scale. It does not tell you when, or whether, individual sites follow.
If you have wanted to buy or lease a pub-restaurant, do not wait for listings to appear. Get your funding position settled now. Property deals move on the seller's timetable, not yours.
Our fuller guide sets out what a buyer is taking on, and how the finance works: what the Whitbread closures mean if you want to buy a pub.
