Beefeater and Brewers Fayre to close in south east London and Kent

The Beacon in Dartford will close on September 7 <i>(Image: Google)</i>
The Beacon in Dartford will close on September 7 (Image: Google)
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A number of Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants in south east London and Kent are set to close in September.

The closures, announced by owner Whitbread, are part of a major overhaul. The hospitality company is shutting all its separately branded eateries across the UK, impacting several sites in the region.

In south east London, the London Woolwich Beefeater will shut.

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In Kent, The Beacon, The Bull, Eureka Park, Longbridge, Malta Inn, Manor Farm, The Plough, Sir Thomas Wyatt, and The Woolpack Beefeater restaurants are set to close.

Brewers Fayre closures in Kent will include Bobbing Apple, Brookers Oast, and Duke of York.

The 89-strong Brewers Fayre chain will shut after dinner service on September 7, while 106 Beefeater restaurants will cease trading on September 10.

Other Whitbread brands, such as Bar + Block, Table Table, and Cookhouse + Pub, will close their remaining sites on September 3.

The closures follow Whitbread's announcement in April of plans to cut around 3,800 jobs across the UK and Ireland.

This move is part of a five-year strategy aimed at achieving £250 million in cost savings.

Whitbread plans to replace the restaurant chains with food outlets inside Premier Inn hotels.

The company claims this model is “highly popular with hotel guests” and more efficient.

Despite the closures, Whitbread is planning to expand its hotel business.

The company aims to increase its number of Premier Inn rooms from around 86,600 to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year.

Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul, announcing the plans earlier this year, said the company is exploring ways to improve its long-term performance.

He 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.”

Mr Paul added that the plan would transform Whitbread into a “higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.”

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