Brewing giant Heineken will reopen 62 pubs that were closed in recent years and invest £39m in refurbishing hundreds of sites across the UK.
The company said the cash injection into its Star Pubs & Bars chain will create more than 1,000 new jobs.
The UK pubs industry has been hard hit by closures both during the Covid pandemic and afterwards as cost of living pressures weighed on consumer spending.
Between 2021 and 2023, pubs have shut at a rate of 500 a year, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
Star Pubs & Bars currently operates 2,400 pubs. In 2019, it had 2,700 pubs across the UK.
A spokesperson for Star Pubs & Bars said: “It would be unrealistic for any major leased and tenanted pub company to have all its pubs open at any one time.”
They said the number fluctuates on a range of factors, but added: “Around 95% of ours pubs are open at any one time.”
The announcement by Heineken is the latest indication that the British pub industry is seeing signs of growth after major blows from the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Last week, major pub chain Greene King said it would open its new £40m brewery by 2027.
