Greene King Hits 100 Franchise Pubs and Announces Expansion Into Wales

• Greene King has revealed it has hit the milestone of 100 franchise pubs, four years after it launched its first franchise pub in 2021

• It will continue to grow its franchise pub business in 2026, with a pipeline of 30 new openings, including expanding into Wales for the first time

Greene King Pub Partners, the leased, tenanted and franchise division of Greene King, has announced it has reached the major milestone of 100 franchise pubs. 

The milestone has been hit just over four years after Greene King launched its first franchise concept, Hive Pubs, in late 2021 and almost two years after it opened its first Nest Pubs franchise in 2024. 

In 2025, Greene King Pub Partners opened 30 new franchise pubs, including in Scotland under the Belhaven brand for the first time. Key openings in 2025 included The Tarbet in Edinburgh, which became the first Greene King franchise pub in Scotland after a £285,000 refurbishment, The Dolphin in Melbourn, which reopened as a Hive Pub after a £570,000 investment, and the Two Poplars in Wokingham which opened after a £450,000 transformation. 

To build on this momentum with its successful and growing pub franchise model, Greene King will continue to grow its franchise business in 2026 with plans to open 30 more Hive Pubs and Nest Pubs. 

To support this growth, Greene King will expand its franchise operations into Wales and the Southwest of England for the first time through a pipeline of openings set for 2026. New franchise investments and openings already planned for the first quarter of 2026 include Millwrights in Aylesbury, The Freemasons Arms in Wigan and The Flag Inn in Egerton. 

This expansion will be facilitated by the growth of the Greene King Pub Partners franchise team, through the hiring of two new Business Development Managers (BDMs) to cover the expanded geography of the franchise business and the internal promotion of a franchise BDM to Operations Manager, leading a team of five BDMs.  

A Greene King franchisee can run their own pub franchise business from as little as £3,000 ingoing cost, which covers agreement fees, induction, and on-site training. Earnings are based on a percentage of food and drink sales, with additional opportunities for profit-sharing and performance-based bonuses. 

As it continues to grow its successful franchise business and its proven Hive Pubs and Nest Pubs franchise concepts, Greene King Pub Partners is actively recruiting for experienced pub managers and operators who want to run their own pub business within a proven framework and concept.  

Anyone interested in running a franchise pub with Greene King or learning more about Greene King’s franchise model can find out more at www.greenekingpubpartners.co.uk. 

Penelope Bruce, Pub Partners Franchise Operations Director, said: 

“We are over the moon to have hit the magic number of 100 franchise pubs. Just over four years on from launching our very first Hive Pub, our franchise offer continues to grow. After expanding into Scotland for the first time, we have plans to launch in Wales in 2026 as we open 30 more franchise pubs. 

“We continue to see lots of interest in our pub franchise agreements from experienced pub managers looking to take the step up and run their own pub business and are actively seeking applicants to run the pubs in our pipeline.” 

Greene King Pub Partners Managing Director, Dan Robinson, said:  

“We are delighted with the ongoing growth of our franchise business, which continues to complement our very successful leased and tenanted pub business.”  

- 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 Pub Partners: Greene King Pub Partners operates around 1,000 leased, tenanted and franchise pubs across England, Scotland and Wales with independent business partners. In March 2023 it was recognised as the best leased and tenanted pub company at the Publican Awards, the 6th time Greene King Pub Partners has won the national industry award.  

• 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”.  

• 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.  

For more information or any other media enquiries, please contact Nick Lawrie, Senior Communications Manager, on NickLawrie@GreeneKing.co.uk or 07812 256245. 

Third-party news items are published as received for informational purposes. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Guild. Please use the contact details within the post for any enquiries.