The boss of a UK brewery giant has issued an update over its decision to put 150 of its pubs up for sale. Greene King, which has around 2,500 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland, recently revealed plans to put around 150 of its pubs up for sale in a major shake-up to its estate.

The brewery giant, which also brews Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Belhaven beers, has identified around "300 managed sites that would be better served under different models". The firm expects roughly half of these - about 150 pubs - to be converted into leased, tenanted or franchise venues within its Pub Partners estate, with the remaining 150 sites to be evaluated for a potential sale. Impacted venues will be moved into a new, separate business unit while they transition. Greene King also identified a small number of sites for closure, representing fewer than 2% of the managed estate, in line with the group's typical annual activity. Announcing the brewery's annual results, Green King chief executive Nick Mackenzie said: "Long-term permanent reform from government is essential to ensure that unprecedented costs do not hold back the enormous potential of the sector."

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In March, Mackenzie said: "We are confident that our new pub estate strategy will set us up to deliver sustainable profitable growth for the long term as consumer habits continue to evolve and the operating environment remains dynamic.

"The realignment of our estate enables us to play to the strengths of our brands, capitalise on our investment in digital and loyalty, invest effectively in our core portfolio and most importantly continue to deliver exceptional experiences for our customers."