Beer giant Heineken UK is investing £627,000 in three Staffordshire pubs as part of a £44.5 million nationwide refurbishment programme expected to create 850 jobs.
The investment forms part of a major upgrade of 647 pubs across the company’s 2,350-strong Star Pubs estate.
In Staffordshire, pubs in Biddulph, Tamworth and Lichfield will benefit.
The biggest investment is at The Roaring Meg in Biddulph where a £300,000 overhaul is underway to turn it into a more family-friendly venue with brand-new games facilities and an expanded food offer. The pub is expected to open within a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, The Three Horseshoes in Fazeley, Tamworth, has had a £208,000 revamp which included a full interior redesign, new furniture and lighting and an upgraded sports offer. The exterior was improved with three covered booths installed in the garden. The four-week refurbishment created six new jobs.
Plans for the third Staffordshire venue, Lichfield’s The Fountain, are still being finalised, although the work is likely to begin in early Autumn and Heineken has said the wider investment programme is focused on improving sports facilities and creating flexible community spaces for drinking, dining and sports or entertainment.
Across the West Midlands, £2.35 million is being spent on 11 pubs with licensees adding a further £175,000 on top. Forty-five jobs are being created as a result.
Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs’ managing director, said: “Pubs are a fantastic institution, admired the world over. We’re proud to be a leading investor in Britain’s independently operated locals and to be playing a part in securing their future along with our dedicated and entrepreneurial licensees.
“Investment is essential if pubs are to remain a first choice for people looking for somewhere to socialise. It is also critical for pubs needing to generate extra revenue to fund the sustained increases in running costs they’ve faced in recent years. However, we can only do so much; the root-and-branch reform of business rates that the industry has been calling for over many years is urgently required, as well as a lowering of the burden of taxation on pubs – including VAT and beer duty. We are calling on the Government to support us in bringing out the best in the Great British pub.
“Importantly, this investment will create flexible job opportunities in communities across the West Midlands and the country more widely and give many young people their first taste of the world of work.”
