The social enterprise pub group said the dispute followed Greene King’s August launch of Cornerstone Pubs, a new value-led format within its managed estate.
Cornerstone Inns said its trading history under the name dates back to 2012 and said it had offered Greene King a nationwide co-existence agreement to avoid confusion between the two brands.
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Cornerstone Inns director Damon Horrill told the Morning Advertiser (MA) he had received emails and messages from industry professionals who believed Cornerstone Inns was now working with Greene King.
He added that the confusion was a concern because Cornerstone Inns’ model is focused on community ownership and independent pubs.
Trade mark dispute
Horrill said: “We have built the Cornerstone Inns brand over 14 years of frontline trading. We offered Greene King a sensible, nationwide co-existence agreement so both brands could operate without consumer confusion.”
He said Cornerstone Inns would continue to defend what it believes are its prior rights as Greene King rolls out its Cornerstone Pubs format.
Cornerstone Inns said the case would now move to the next stage of the UKIPO process, where both sides can submit evidence.
It said it would rely on arguments around prior use of the name and honest concurrent use, meaning both businesses could potentially operate under similar names without consumer confusion.
The business said it had previously held a registered UK trade mark for the Cornerstone Inns brand, but the registration lapsed after a renewal was missed during a restructure involving the insolvency of a former holding entity. It reapplied for the mark in January 2026 ahead of a planned wider rollout.
The dispute comes as Cornerstone Inns develops its Social Employee Ownership Trust model, which it says is designed to protect independent community pubs through worker ownership and community governance.
Greene King response
Greene King announced Cornerstone Pubs last month as a soft brand bringing together value and carvery pubs within its managed estate.
At the time, the pub company said the new proposition would focus on “everyday great value” in community-focused pubs, while allowing individual sites to retain their existing character and local feel.
The launch came as Greene King continued to review its wider estate, including around 65 pubs identified for potential sale following previous plans to convert or sell around 300 managed sites.
A Greene King spokesperson told the MA: “We have been in conversation with Cornerstone Inns CIC regarding a trade mark application relating to Greene King’s existing registered rights in the Cornerstone Pubs brand.
“Having carefully reviewed the information provided to date we consider it appropriate for the matter to now be determined through the established UKIPO process.”
