Greene King is ready to promote 150 of its pubs and hand off one other 150 in enterprise shake-up as managing director steps down
Greene King is considering selling off 150 pubs and converting another 150 into tenanted pubs as part of a massive business shake-up following steep losses.
Britain’s second-largest pubs operator, which runs around 2,600 venues across the country, is also set to see managing director Zoe Bowley step down from her role as the brewery giant continues to grapple with soaring costs in the hospitality industry.
Her departure comes as Greene King looks set to offload hundreds of pubs or hand them over to independent landlords to run.
Greene King’s chief executive, Nick Mackenzie, said the decision was made following a ‘strategic reaction’ to the ‘changing operating environment’, he told The Times.
The pub giant, which was founded in 1799 in the historic market town of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, is among the thousands of hospitality firms who are feeling the pinch after being hammered by rising food, energy and labour costs, and tax rises.
Latest figures show that four hospitality businesses closed every day under Labour between October and December 2025.
Only last month, the Daily Mail reported that Greene King was considering its second restructure in two years, with around 100 jobs potentially being placed at risk across its head office in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and central functions.
In recent months, Greene King said the pub chain had seen its costs rise by more than £300million since 2019.
Managing director Zoe Bowley is set to step down from her role as the brewery giant continues to grapple with soaring costs in the hospitality industry
Greene King is considering selling off 150 pubs and converting another 150 into tenanted pubs as part of a massive business shake-up following steep losses. Pictured: The Fox Inn, run by Greene King, in Bury St Edmunds where the brewery giant was founded in 1799
Greene King said around 300 sites have been identified as being ‘better served under different models’ – with half being potentially sold ‘over the medium-term’.
These sites will be transferred to a new focused business unit while the changes take place which ‘allow Greene King to run the sites on a simplified model, with a renewed focus on maximising financial returns.’
In a statement, Mackenzie said: ‘We are confident that our new pub estate strategy will set us up to deliver sustainable profitable growth for the long-term as consumer habits continue to evolve and the operating environment remains dynamic.
‘The realignment of our estate – which leverages our strategically important Pub Partners business – enables us to play to the strengths of our brands, capitalise on our investment in digital and loyalty, invest effectively in our core portfolio and most importantly continue to deliver exceptional experiences for our customers.’
In January Rachel Reeves announced a £300m package to support pubs against rising business rates after a widespread backlash to her Budget announcement saw Labour MPs banned from pubs across the country.
Pubs and music venues will be given a 15 per cent discount on business rates from April.
But industry groups such as UKHospitality and business owners have warned that more cafes, restaurants and hotels will be left with no choice but to shut up shop if similar measures are not drawn up for other parts of the sector.
Allen Simpson, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, told the Daily Mail in January: ‘The cost challenges facing hospitality businesses continue to grow and four businesses closing a day in the last quarter of 2025 is the unfortunate reality of a sector shouldering the highest tax burden in the economy.’
