The leased and tenanted pub operator has said it has plans for a further 20 sites to operate under the Local Hero agreement. This week a website dedicated to the scheme was launched.
Greene King described the framework for Local Hero as focussing on “celebrating and championing everything local, from microbreweries to the local farm shop”. Pubs operating under the agreement, which launched in 2011, are often treated to a “sympathetic refurbishment”, the company said.
Clive Chesser, business unit director for Greene King Pub Partners, said: “The support for Local Hero is really gathering steam and we have seen a real boom in interest in it from potential licensees and our existing tenants.
“After initially refining the approach, we established a modern agreement which gives licensees the opportunity to genuinely and proudly establish themselves at the heart of a local community.
“With a smaller, quality estate, we are keen to add even more of our pubs to our Local Hero roster and are actively working towards a higher number.”
Think local
At the bar of a Local Hero pub licensees are expected to stock half of their cask ales from local microbreweries, with products from Greene King forming the other half. Local suppliers are used for as much as possible and typically licensees source meat, vegetables or bread from local quality providers.
Brothers-in-law, Robert Beckley and David Warren run the King Stag in Bushey under a Local Hero agreement. Warren said: “We were attracted to the Local Hero agreement as it offered us structure and valuable business support from Greene King, with the flexibility to be able to integrate ourselves in the pub’s community by stocking local produce and exciting cask ales from local microbrewers.”
Other Local Hero pubs include the Antelope in Surbiton, the Alexandra Arms in Cambridge and the Goat & Boot in Colchester, one of the most recent additions.