Greene King Pub Partners, the leased, tenanted and franchise division of Greene King, has hit the milestone of 25 Hive Pubs.
The 25th Hive Pub – The Rose & Thistle in Reading – opened on 24th November following Greene King Pub Partners’ transformational investment of £500,000, the highest yet for one of its Hive Pubs.
The Rose & Thistle, a former Greene King managed site, had been closed for two years in the wake of the pandemic.
As part of the transition to the Hive Pubs format the pub has been completely renovated inside and out in line with the Hive Pubs brand, creating a modern look and feel in the pub with community at its heart.
The garden at the pub has also been transformed and now features beach huts and covered outdoor seating complete with beautiful wooden furniture to enable use of the garden all year round.
As a Hive pub, sport will be a key part of The Rose & Thistle’s offer and so it has Sky Sports and BT Sport subscriptions to show all the major sporting events. It also has a dartboard.
The Rose & Thistle will offer an extensive range of food and drink in line with the Hive Pubs branded concept, including a menu of pub classics curated by the food team at Greene King and paired with tasty deserts.
It will also serve an extensive range of drinks from standard and premium lagers to ciders, stouts and ales, plus an extended range of spirits, wines, soft drinks and alcohol-free options.
The new pub will be run by franchisee Paul Antony Billington.
Aimed at those with experience of running a pub, the Hive Pubs franchise agreement gives licensees a ready to trade pub within a proven branded concept for just £5k ingoing cost. Franchisees get a minimum guaranteed income of £20k which is paid weekly.
They also get a percentage of food and drink sales. On top of this, they get a share of the profits in their pub and can earn a bonus on top of this. Hive Pubs recently won “Best New Concept” at the Foodservice Equipment Journal 2022 Awards.
Paul Antony Billington, franchisee for The Rose & Thistle, noted, “With the proven concept, full backing of Greene King and major investment, taking on a Hive Pub as a franchisee was the clear choice for me. Plus, I have the security of guaranteed income and share of turnover and profits.”
Wayne Shurvinton, Managing Director for Greene King Pub Partners, said, “With our £500,000 investment, The Rose & Thistle is our biggest Hive Pub transformation yet. It is another significant milestone in the rollout of Hive Pubs and our franchise team have done a great job. We continue to push forward with more openings.”
