Greene King Achieves 100% Pass Rate From Best bar None for Safety & Excellence for Second Year Running

Greene King, the UK’s leading integrated pub company and brewer, has been awarded full accreditation for all its managed pubs from Best Bar None, reaffirming its commitment to responsible retailing and safer socialising.

To receive the accreditation, all 1,544 pubs across Greene King’s managed estate were assessed on venue management, staff training and care, customer safety and welfare, and customer service and community. For the second year running, it achieved a 100% pass rate. The accreditation is valid until May 2026.

Best Bar None, a Home Office-backed initiative, identifies well-run licensed premises within the hospitality industry. There is a nationwide multi-site accreditation scheme which complements the regional scheme model helping to bring more hospitality venues up to Best Bar None’s required standards.

Greene King’s Chief Operating Officer, Clair Preston-Beer has welcomed the news which reinforces the company’s commitment to responsible retailing. She said: “The wellbeing and safety of our customers and team members is top of our agenda and this Best Bar None accreditation recognises that our pubs are welcoming, safe spaces to work and socialise in.

“This is operational excellence in the truest sense, and we are pleased to see the results of the hard work that the teams put in to achieve this.”

Chairman of Best Bar None, Lord Philip Smith of Hindhead added: “Congratulations to everyone at Greene King for their exceptional achievement - a full 100% of their managed pubs have achieved Best Bar None accreditation for this year. 

“This is a clear demonstration of Greene King’s commitment to promoting safer socialising across its estate. The dedication shown by their teams, working hand in hand with our national team, has been instrumental in reaching this standard. 

“With over 3,500 venues already part of our Home Office-backed initiative, we hope Greene King's success inspires others to join the industry’s mark of safety and excellence."

Benefits of Best Bar None accreditation include: ensuring compliance with the Licensing Act, supporting venue managers to make any required improvements including staff training, encouraging closer examination and monitoring of sites by area managers and ensuring venues are managed to a consistently high standard across the estate.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland. 

At Greene King we are passionate about delivering our purpose to ‘pour happiness into lives’. That’s for our customers, our team, our pub partners, our suppliers and the communities in which we live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire we employ around 40,000 people across the group with three divisions: Greene King pubs, Destination Brands & Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.  

• Greene King pubs: Greene King pubs is our mainstream pub brand located where people and communities come together; pubs enjoyed in cities, towns and villages throughout the country with clear ambition to be “The Nation’s Most Loved Pub Brand”. Pub Partners runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive Franchise pubs.  

• Destination Brands & Ventures: Destination Brands is a portfolio of distinct brands which includes Hungry Horse, Chef & Brewer, Farmhouse Inns and Flaming Grill that bring friends and family together, delivering great service, quality and value for money for a range of eating out and drinking occasions. Venture includes Hickory’s, Premium (Crafted Pubs & Metropolitan Pub Company) and Hotels which operate autonomously of Greene King’s managed pub brands.    

• Brewing & Brands covers the brewing sides of the business. Quality ales are brewed at the Westgate brewery in Bury St Edmunds and the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar. Our industry-leading portfolio includes Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Ice Breaker and Belhaven Best and our premium beers, Level Head and Flint Eye, brewed for the modern-day drinker.

Greene King is embedding more sustainable ways of working across all aspects of the business through an environment and social strategy, supporting our communities and reducing environmental impact. We have a net zero target of 2040 and a near-term target to halve all greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Through our Greene King for Good programme, we are working collaboratively with suppliers and businesses, making operational improvements and offering customers sustainable choices.

Contact: Greene King Press Office, PressOffice@greeneking.co.uk

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