Whitbread announced that it is considering closing or rebranding a number of Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants, with the Walston Castle in Wenvoe among the list of restaurants at risk.
These potential closures come as the hospitality group said it wanted to save money in light of cost pressures coming from business rates and national insurance contributions.
They are part of a new five-year strategy to make £250 million in cost savings and overhaul its restaurants.
Its new five-year plan includes the increased cost-saving target and steps to cut capital spending by more than £1 billion. This will see it sell off £1.5 billon worth of its freehold properties – meaning the hotels it owns outright – to “fund future growth and increasingly look to grow on a leasehold basis”.
It will also replace its 197 restaurants with an integrated food and drink model which it said was more efficient and preferred by hotel guests.
The restaurants are usually situated adjacent to or within Premier Inn hotels, and have been a fixture for the millions of guests who stay each year. The closures would bring an end to Beefeater restaurants after more than 50 years of trading, with Brewers Fayre having been on track to mark the same anniversary in 2029, reports the Express.
Chief executive Dominic Paul said: “We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and national insurance, as well as the implied market discount to our inherent value, we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.
“This has been a rigorous process and we’ve approached all options with an open mind.
Whitbread owns restaurant chains including Beefeater, Bar + Block and Brewers Fayre.
Whitbread said the plans to reduce its 30,000-strong workforce were subject to employee consultation, and that it expects to retain a significant proportion of those affected through redeployment.
The company’s previous restructuring plan, launched in 2024, resulted in around 1,500 job cuts.
It is still planning to increase the number of hotel rooms it has open to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year, from the current of approximately 86,600.
“Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy.”
He added: “This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.
“We’re going to go further and faster to deliver a great experience for our guests and high-quality growth and returns for our shareholders.”
Under the proposals, the following restaurants could close or be rebranded in South Wales, under Whitbread’s plan:
Brewers Fayre:
· Aberdare (Rhondda Cynon Taff)
· Abergavenny (Abergavenny)
· Barry Island (Vale of Glamorgan)
· Crossways (Caerphilly)
· Ebbw Vale (Blaenau Gwent)
· Ocean Park (Cardiff)
· Swansea Vale (Swansea)
· Tirfounder Fields (Rhondda Cynon Taff)
· Victoria Park (Gwent)
Beefeater:
· Bagle Brook (Port Talbot)
· Coach and Horses (Cardiff)
· The Coldra (Newport)
· The Longbow (Rhondda Cynon Taff)
· Walson Castle (Vale of Glamorgan)
· The Waterfront (Swansea)
All of these are currently listed as affected because Whitbread plans to exit the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre brands entirely across the UK and Ireland over the next five years, either closing sites or converting them to a new Premier Inn food offer.
