As Greene King puts 150 sites up for sale, what do the public make of the pub chain?

Greene King recently announced that it would be selling 150 of its locations due to “unprecedented” costs. It’s a move that the pub chain’s CEO describes (in City A.M.) as a response to “changing consumer behaviour” and a shifting cost environment.

Whatever the commercial benefits, data from YouGov BrandIndex suggests that the closures may be unpopular. The Greene King brand is more well-liked than comparable chains in the pub, bars & restaurants sector: Impression scores (which measure general positive and negative sentiment) are at 17.5, nearly ten points ahead of the industry average of 7.7.

Consumers are also broadly of the view that Greene King represents better quality than the competition (8.6 vs. 5.3) and better value (10.0 vs. 3.0). In terms of customer advocacy, Recommend scores are double those of the industry (12.6 vs. 6.0). We could possibly attribute this to high levels of customer satisfaction: scores tracking this metric are also twice those of Greene King’s competitors (16.6 vs. 8.4). The chain also outperforms in terms of footfall: Current Customer scores, which ask consumers if they’ve recently visited a pub, bar, or restaurant, are at 6.5 compared to 1.8 for comparable brands.

Overall, it is simply a brand in much better shape than the average for its industry: Index scores, which average several metrics to paint a picture of overall brand health, are at 11.6 compared to 5.5 for other pub, restaurant, and bar chains.

So: Greene King is a strong, well-liked brand, and one considered to offer both above-par quality and bang for buck; regardless, it has deemed it necessary to preemptively shutter dozens of locations. This could lend some support to the CEO’s claims about the environment for hospitality businesses, and it could reflect the challenges of the UK’s commercial landscape in a time of belt-tightening: our most recent consumer confidence data saw confidence in household finances tumble to the lowest levels since 2023. In any case, the chain’s leadership and pubgoers alike may be hoping to see some Greene shoots in the national economy soon.