The Kingfisher in Newport Pagnell has become a Hive Pub, following a £400,000 investment by Greene King.
First launched in 2021, Hive Pubs are community focused that aim to combine a great food offer with live sport and a lively programme of entertainment.
This was followed by the launch of Nest Pubs, which were introduced in 2024 and are wet-led, high street sites that also feature food, sport and events.
According to Greene King, it is continuing to invest in the growth of its franchise estate with more sites in the pipeline.
High demand
Franchise partners earn through a combination of turnover share, profit share and performance-based bonuses with Hive pubs also featuring a fixed franchise fee to cover operating costs.
Managing director Dan Robinson said: “Opening our 20th franchise pub of 2025 is another strong signal of the success and scalability of our franchise model.
“We’re continuing to see high demand from people with pub and hospitality experience who want to run their own pub business with the backing and support of Greene King.
“There is still more growth to come with our franchise operations, while we also maintain our core leased and tenanted business and help our partners to grow.”
Earlier this summer (June), the business hit a milestone of 80 franchise pubs in four years.
Previous investment
It described the news as a “pivotal moment” in the evolution of its franchise offer.
Last month (August), Pub Partners announced its biggest annual investment in recent years as it said it was on track to invest £27m into its pub estate this year.
Furthermore, the Greene King also previously revealed it had injected almost £42m into more than 100 of its pub and smokehouse restaurants in the first half of 2025.
This included a £1.1m investment at the Railway pub by London’s Liverpool Street station.
