Common Table Will Acquire 57 Former Whitbread Restaurant Sites

Common Table Group said Wednesday that it plans to acquire 57 former Whitbread restaurant sites, a deal the company said will create 700 new jobs as it moves to reopen venues that were shut after Whitbread decided to leave the UK branded restaurant market.

The hospitality business said the new jobs would come in addition to employees transferring from Whitbread. The first sites are expected to relaunch from mid-November, and Common Table said it wants all of the venues fully trading again as soon as possible.

The acquisition follows a major retreat by Whitbread from a part of its business that once included the Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Table Table chains. Whitbread had previously confirmed that its remaining restaurants under those brands would close in September as it exited the UK branded restaurant estate.

Common Table said the sites will remain restaurants and will be run with an all-day food and drink offer aimed at both hotel guests and local customers. The company also said the locations will feature a new specialty barista coffee offer supplied through its sister company, Rodeo Group.

The reopening of such a large group of restaurant sites could also affect drinks suppliers across the UK hospitality market. As the venues return to trading, they are likely to create fresh demand for beer, wine, spirits, coffee and other beverage products, especially because the company is planning all-day service and a broader drinks offer.

Common Table said it will invest in refurbishing the restaurants, training and developing staff, and creating new menus. It described the operating model as one that would give each restaurant “the spirit of an independent,” with local teams encouraged to shape each venue around the community it serves.

“Our priority is to get the sites back open and trading as soon as possible,” Common Table Group managing director Thomas Anderson said in a statement. He said the company is building “an entrepreneurial business with a local feel,” where teams are empowered to make decisions and adapt each site to local demand.

He added that the group was looking forward to bringing “new energy and ideas” to guests as the venues reopen.

The company said it is now beginning a recruitment drive for new roles, including general managers, and that vacancies will be listed through its website. The hiring push comes as operators across the sector continue to balance expansion plans with pressure on labor costs and ongoing competition for experienced hospitality workers.

Anderson’s background includes running restaurants and leading Rodeo Group, a specialty coffee and bakery business with 15 Rodeo Doughnut sites in London and Manchester. Common Table said it is supported by Rove360, a hospitality transformation consultancy whose team includes former senior Whitbread managers.

The transaction is one of several recent deals involving Whitbread’s former restaurant estate. Earlier this year, Mitchells & Butlers agreed to buy a smaller package of former Whitbread sites. In another deal, 53 branded restaurant sites were conditionally sold to Queensway Inns and are expected to continue operating as going concerns.

The pace of those transactions shows how quickly Whitbread’s former restaurant network is being redistributed across the market after the company’s withdrawal from the segment. For suppliers, landlords and local labor markets, Common Table’s plan stands out because of its scale and because it points to a relatively fast return to operation, starting next month.

While the company has not yet set out a full brand strategy for all 57 locations, it has made clear that food and drink will be central to the relaunch. That includes restaurant service throughout the day and a stronger coffee proposition, which may widen the types of drinks partners involved in the reopened sites.

The business did not provide financial details of the acquisition. It also did not identify the individual sites in Wednesday’s announcement, but said the aim is to reopen the estate as quickly as possible once work on the venues is completed and teams are in place.