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Marston’s is taking over operations at over one hundred pubs owned by a Welsh brewer, potentially saving more than 1,000 jobs.
The brewer, Brains, has been forced to close most of its pubs due to COVID-19 restrictions.
COVID-19 Restrictions Result In Mass Pub Closures
Brains had apparently been “under significant financial pressure” as restrictions forced pub closures in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The company closed all its pubs on 4 Dec. following an announcement that alcohol sales would be banned and 6 p.m. pub closures would be enforced.
Brains reportedly said keeping the doors open in those circumstances wasn’t “a viable option.”
“This agreement marks the formation of a lasting strategic relationship with Marston’s which secures the future of Brains’ pubs and 1,300 of our employees within them,” Brains chairman John Rhys told Sky News.
Marston’s Pub Take Over
Marston’s will be taking over Brains’ entire portfolio of156 pubs, according to The Drinks Business.
Most of the pubs involved in the transfer will be leased for 25 years, according to The Guardian.
Under the deal, which is likely to close in February, the pubs will continue under the Brains logo and will continue to sell Brains beers.
Brains beer, which was once made at Cardiff city centre breweries, is now brewed at a Cardiff Bay facility that opened in March 2019, The Guardian reported.
Marston’s already owns 1,368 U.K. pubs, according to Sky News.
Until 2007, the company was known as Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries.
Brains pubs employees will transfer to Marston’s, joining the company’s existing 14,000 employees throughout the U.K., The Guardian reported.
“We look forward to the pub teams joining us and to welcoming guests and the communities which they serve, back into these pubs as the country emerges from the pandemic over the weeks and months ahead,” Marston’s chief executive Ralph Findlay said.
Rhys said the move would allow Brains to “recapitalise its balance sheet and continue its long heritage as an independent entity, preserving this great Welsh business for generations to come.”
“We know and trust Marston’s to be excellent custodians of our pubs and, while this is not a decision we have taken lightly, we are confident that our pubs and our pubs teams will thrive under their stewardship,” he told The Guardian.
Brains History
Family-owned S.A. Brain & Co., established in 1882, grew to be the largest brewer and pub company in Wales, according to The Guardian.
And the family is still involved in the business: Rhys is Brains founder Samuel Arthur Brain’s great-grandson.
The pubs included in the transfer to Marston’s earned about £14 million annually before the coronavirus pandemic spread to the U.K. The annual rent on the pubs was £5.5 million.
Rhys told The Drinks Business the disruptions resulting from the last COVID-19 lockdown alone may have cost the pubs more than £1.5 million.
COVID-19 Confusion for Welsh Pubs
New COVID-19 restrictions put in place earlier this month caused some confusion for owners of pubs along Wales’ border with England.
Welsh restaurants, licenced pubs and cafes aren’t allowed to serve alcohol on premises, while off-license pubs are allowed to sell alcohol for pickup.
Furthermore, those businesses are required to close at 6 p.m., though they are allowed to offer takeaway after 6 p.m.
These rules are different in England, however.
Pubs on the Welsh side were banned from serving alcohol, but Tier 2 pubs on the English side were allowed to serve alcohol with meals.
Welsh pubs may not serve alcohol, but Tier 2 English pubs may serve it with a meal.
At least one business owner said he believes pubs on both sides of the border would have preferred the rules to be the same.
“There’s no one-upmanship involved,” The Bell Inn’s landlord, Nick Till, told the BBC. “We just want our normal trade.”
Till also said he was uncertain whether he was allowed to serve someone who came into his English pub from Wales.
Restrictions on the country’s more than 2,000 pubs is thought to affect thousands of people.
More than 100,000 people are employed in Wales’ hospitality sector — and over 27,000 of those jobs are in the country’s cafes and restaurants.
What do you think of the deal between Brains and Marston’s? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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