The popular Old Nelson Brewers Fayre in Stroud appears to have been saved from closure, according to The Sun.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread had previously revealed plans to close 200 restaurants across the country, including Stroud’s Brewers Fayre at the Grade II-listed Old Nelson on Stratford Road.
However, a letter seen by The Sun reveals that around 53 of the 261 sites earmarked for closure, including the Old Nelson, have now been saved.
Whitbread has agreed the conditional sale of the 53 restaurants to Queensway Inns, a hospitality company which intends to continue operating the sites as going concerns.
A Whitbread spokesperson told The Sun: “Whitbread has reached an agreement for the conditional sale of 53 Branded Restaurant sites to Queensway Inns, subject to a number of final conditions being met.
“Queensway Inns has extensive experience operating hospitality businesses across the UK and intends to operate the sites as going concerns.”
Around 900 staff could transfer to the new operator if the sale is completed, with Whitbread saying they will be supported through the TUPE consultation process.
The proposed sale forms part of Whitbread’s wider plan to move away from its branded restaurant estate and focus on its Premier Inn hotel business.
The company announced in April that it planned to extend its programme to include all remaining branded restaurants, while adding around 3,600 new Premier Inn extension rooms in areas where there is strong demand.
The move will see new Premier Inn restaurants created inside hotels, a format already operating in more than half of its hotels.
The Old Nelson itself has a history stretching back more than 200 years.
Originally known as Stratford Lodge, the Grade II-listed building was constructed in the early 19th century for a Spanish lord, with bricks reportedly brought over from Spain specifically for its construction.
The building has subsequently served as a monastery and was the final home of former MP Walter Stanton.
It later became an independent co-educational day school, Nelson School, named after its headmaster. The school eventually closed in the 1990s.
The apparent reprieve will come as welcome news to customers and staff who feared the popular Stroud restaurant could disappear.
