A Reading steak and grill restaurant has closed its doors alongside the 200 others to be replaced in the next two years.

Located off Imperial Way in Whitley, the Reading Gateway Beefeater, caters to Reading residents and hotel guests at the Premier Inn - which the restaurant is attached to.

This Beefeater close to the M4 and the Madejski Stadium is one of multiple sites in the Southeast affected by a move that may result in 1,500 job losses nationally.

A spokesperson from Whitbread confirmed that the site closed on July 4. The nearest Beefeater is now the Southcote.

The group said: “We do hope to welcome people there!”

As part of the group's “Accelerating Growth Plan”, they are set to add 3,500 new hotel rooms to Premier Inn’s UK pipeline and evolve its Food and Beverage (F&B) offer, so that the company can meet increased demand and deliver a better experience for 'even more' hotel guests.

Dominic Paul, Chief Executive Officer, said: “When I joined Whitbread as CEO in January 2023, it was clear to me that we had a high performing hotels business, with a strong platform for growth in both the UK and Germany.  Our strategy of continuing to invest in our brand, teams, and estate for the benefit of our guests and customers has secured a market-leading position for Premier Inn in the UK and is also delivering strong business performance. 

“Our significant freehold estate and strong balance sheet mean we are in a unique position to be able to add 3,500 new hotel rooms and meet the strong demand we are seeing from guests around the country, whilst continuing to offer a great breakfast and dinner at all of our hotels. This plan is a further positive step, delivering a better experience for our hotel guests and helping to extend our market leadership in the UK. 

“I recognise that these changes will be unsettling for affected team members and we are committed to working hard to enable as many as possible of those affected to stay with Whitbread by either transferring into roles this plan will create, or by taking up other vacancies across the business more broadly through our existing recruitment activity that makes c.15,000 hires each year.

"Our teams are at the heart of our guest experience, and I want to thank each and every team member for their continued hard work and dedication to deliver the great quality, service and value that our guests expect from us.”