Historic pub owner and former brewer Whitbread is to close its entire 450-odd pub estate in September 2026 and pull out of the pub trade. The company has announced that all Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Cookhouse + Pub and other branded pub-restaurants will be closed.

Whitbread also owns dozens of Premier Inn budget hotels across the country. Originally, it was suggested that Brewers Fayre pubs sited next to a Premier Inn might be converted into restaurants linked to the hotel, based on a view that such pubs had always effectively been restaurants, allowing conversion without a planning application for change of use. However, Whitbread apparently now believes its Premier Inn customers would prefer an upgrade of the internal Thyme restaurants to walking next door for meals, leading to a later announcement confirming that pubs next to Premier Inns will be among the many closed.

Priory Marina Bedford

According to the pub trade press, Table Table and Cookhouse + Pub pubs will close on 3 September, followed by Brewers Fayre pubs on 7 September and Beefeater on 10 September. Whitbread may be tempted to maximise its returns from selling these assets by trying to obtain planning approval for change of use prior to sale, thereby preventing purchase of going concerns. Such a move would meet stiff opposition from CAMRA and other pub campaigners.

At one time Whitbread owned a lot of pubs in Bedfordshire from its former brewing history in Luton, but many old corner pubs have been closed or sold in recent decades. Many of the pubs now facing closure are relatively new. Although there are more cases elsewhere in the county, only two Whitbread pubs faced closure in our North Bedfordshire branch area: the Priory Marina in Bedford, a popular Beefeater pub overlooking the marina itself, and the Brewers Fayre in Fletcher Road, Kempston, close to the big interchange on the A421. Brewers Fayre is a relatively recent new build pub, part of the development in western Kempston that followed the opening of the A6 western bypass. former Brewers Fayre Kempston

Like other Beefeaters, the Priory Marina is expected to close on 10 September. We do not yet know its eventual fate, although as it is a popular destination for boat users and families, there will certainly be plenty of local support for another pub owner to take it over than for a change of use.

The Brewers Fayre in Kempston closed several weeks ago, but fortunately has a more assured future. It has already been sold to JD Wetherspoon and will be reborn as Wetherspoon’s Fletton Brick at the end of September. No real surprise here, given the potential business opportunities in this area from the development of a huge Universal theme park to the south. Will the Fletton Brick become as popular as The Pilgrim’s Progress in Bedford, where good beer quality has earned it a place in successive Good Beer Guides? We look forward to sampling the beers there and hope you will too!