The last remaining Beefeater in Reading, at Southcote, has been put up for sale as Whitbread shifts away from standalone branded restaurants to expand Premier Inn bedrooms and in‑hotel dining.
Until July 2024 Reading had two Beefeaters; the other, at the Premier Inn in Reading Gateway, closed that month and is being converted into nine new rooms and extra restaurant space, the council confirmed.
An advert for the Southcote site is live on Rightmove, calling it a "prominent development opportunity" and saying: "The site lends itself to a wide range of uses such as retail, commercial, residential and care, subject to planning permission."
Whitbread says it is marketing the Southcote site and talking to interested parties, but the Beefeater remains open and trading as normal while a new owner is sought.
The sale forms part of Whitbread's Accelerating Growth Plan (AGP), launched in April 2024, which aims to convert lower-returning branded restaurants into hotel bedrooms or exit sites that don't meet long-term return thresholds.
Nearby, Whitbread has already closed two Bracknell restaurants as part of the plan. The Downshire Arms Beefeater shut in July 2024 for a conversion to 12 hotel rooms and extra dining space at Twin Bridges Premier Inn, and the Weather Vane Brewers Fayre was turned into 17 rooms for Premier Inn Bracknell Central.
Meanwhile the Southcote Beefeater remains open while the sale process continues.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
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