Glastonbury's Brewers Fayre restaurant is set to close as part of sweeping cuts announced by Whitbread today.

The hospitality giant, which owns Premier Inn, confirmed it will shut nearly 200 Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites across the UK and Ireland, with around 3,800 jobs affected.

The Glastonbury location is included on a list of Brewers Fayre restaurants earmarked for closure, marking the end of the chain's presence in the town.

Whitbread said the move forms part of a new five-year strategy aimed at delivering £250 million in cost savings while reshaping its food and drink offer.

The company employs around 30,000 people and said the "vast majority" of roles will be retained, but roughly 12 per cent of staff are expected to lose their jobs as sites close.

Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants are typically located alongside Premier Inn hotels and have been a long-standing feature of the UK's casual dining sector for decades.

Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul said the decision had been driven by rising costs, citing increases in business rates and National Insurance.

He said: "We plan to convert all our remaining branded restaurants to an integrated food and beverage offer that is preferred by our hotel guests and will unlock the addition of more highly profitable extension rooms."

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The company also plans to sell and lease back up to £1.5 billion of its freehold property estate to help fund future growth.

The closures mean Beefeater will disappear after more than 50 years in business, while Brewers Fayre had been approaching the same milestone later this decade.

No timeline for the Glastonbury closure has been confirmed.

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