Greene King faces protest over closure of two Bedfordshire pubs
Greene King Pub Partners has been forced to defend itself against accusations that it is failing to invest in its pub estate.
The leased pub division of Suffolk-based Greene King is facing protest campaigns over future of two Bedfordshire pubs which are facing closure.
Villagers in Turvey are in uproar after Greene King boarded up the 400-year-old Three Fishes inn while a local branch of CAMRA is fighting to keep the 150-year-old Red Cow in Langford open. Greene King is said to be considering selling both the pubs for conversion to a residential use.
Turvey resident Dee Sharp, one of the leaders of the campaign to save the Three Fishes, said: "We believe Greene King has boarded up this pub because its wants to sell it for conversion to private house. It used to trade well, and we know there have been several offers for it."
Meanwhile a local branch of CAMRA has accused Greene King of profiteering by planning to sell the Red Cow as a home rather than a pub.
Greene King Pub Partners marketing director Clive Pettitt defended the company's position. He said no decision had been made over the future of the Three Fishes, but added that the pub would need considerable capital investment before it could be offered to a lessee and was boarded up for insurance reasons due to flood damage.
In the case of the Red Cow, Mr Pettitt said recent lessees had found it difficult to run the business profitably.
"We have a responsibility to potential lessees if we have doubts over the commercial viability of a pub," he said.
"From our perspective we are not just a pub owner, we are a brewer, and so it is in our interest to maintain distribution of our products through as many outlets as possible. That means we take a lot more care over this type of decision than perhaps some other operators. Over the past financial year we've invested more that £16m in our pubs. These decisions are never take lightly".
