Heineken in Scottish pubs pledge

 Star Pubs & Bars managing director Lawson Mountstevens.

HEINEKEN has committed to spending £4 million upgrading its Scottish Star Pubs & Bars estate this year.

The company claims 17 pubs will benefit from the investment in the course of the year, with £2.8m allocated for ‘transformational projects’ with an average spend of £126,000 per pub. And 37% of the funds will be spent on community pubs, helping them to expand their offer through the introduction of food and coffee.

Pubs earmarked for investment include The Montague on St Leonard Street, Edinburgh, and the Malleny Arms in Balerno. Heineken is spending £369,000 on a complete refurbishment of the Malleny Arms and £130,000 on the creation of a new dining area and balcony at the Montague.

“We regularly read about pubs closing down, but what people don’t always appreciate is that well-run, invested pubs are thriving,” said Lawson Mountstevens, managing director at Star Pubs & Bars. “Heineken is passionate about creating great pubs and supporting the licensees that run them. Invested pubs attract more customers, are used more often for different occasions throughout the day and encourage people to trade up, creating more profitable and sustainable businesses for licensees.

“Our investment is creating pubs that people want and use, enhancing local communities and benefiting local economies.”