05-05-2025
Yorkshire pubs to benefit from £40 million Heineken investment
Heineken UK has announced plans to invest £40 million in upgrading and reopening pubs in its Star Pubs division - including a number in Yorkshire.
The investment is expected to create "nearly 1,000 new jobs," according to a spokesperson, including 76 in Yorkshire.
Across the UK, a quarter of Heineken's 2,400 pubs will benefit from investment this year - with 104 of those earmarked for investment worth £120,000 or more.
In Yorkshire, £2.64 million is earmarked for pub improvements, with licensees expected to invest an additional £434,000, according to a spokesperson.
Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs' managing director, said: "Consistent investment – rather than a stop, start approach – and a strategy of creating great locals have been key to helping our pubs weather the storms of the last few years.
"Heineken sees first hand the value in great British pubs and their ongoing popularity.
"It recognises that Brits love their locals and that well-invested pubs trade better.
"This £40 million inward investment from a Dutch business into UK pubs is a resounding vote of confidence in the future of the sector."
The Yorkshire pubs set to benefit from investment include three that are currently closed.
The South Lodge in Ripon, shut since January, is set to open at the end of May.
Subject to legal requirements, work will start in August on Gibsons, in York, which has been closed for four years; and in September on The Cask & Spindle, in Shepley, which has been closed for five years.
Two formerly shut pubs that have already benefited from investment are The Westgate in Halifax and The Black Bull in Ecclesfield.
The other Yorkshire pubs earmarked for 2025 investment subject to legal documents being completed include The King's Arms, in Reeth; The Angel, in Easingwold; The Upton Arms, in Upton; The King's Arms, in Silsden; and The Station Hotel, in Ilkley.
