17 jobs to go as pub giant makes changes

Spirit Group - Sunrise House, Centrum 100Mike Tye

A BURTON pub giant has revealed that nearly 20 people will lose their jobs following a restructure.

Spirit announced that 17 employees are being made redundant in its support centre at its Sunrise House headquarters, in Centrum 100.

The move comes after the Mail revealed yesterday that Kerry Foods, in Mosley Street, were shedding 94 jobs due to ‘difficult trading conditions’.

A spokesman for Spirit told the Mail: “We can confirm there have been a small number of redundancies among our support centre roles based in Burton.

“As a forward-thinking hospitality business we are focussed on our sales, investing in our pubs and most importantly ensuring all of our guests have the very best experience each time they visit us.

“With this strategy we have made a lot of progress in the last couple of years and in doing so, we have put more efficient systems and processes in place.

“This has regrettably led to the need for the removal of a small number of roles, therefore 17 people are leaving the business.

“This restructuring supports our commitment to our future goals and remain a significant employer in Burton, currently employing over 300 at Sunrise House alone.”

The firm has also unveiled plans that a review into its operating structure has seen it scrap its 64-strong Original Pub Company brand.

Instead, the brand will be combined with John Barras to form a new division called Local Pubs, which will come under the responsibility of Spirit Leased managing director Chris Welham.

The company will now be made up of four divisions instead of five – Taylor Walker and Premium Pubs, Fayre and Square and Flaming Grills, Chef and Brewer and Local Pubs.

The job cuts and new structure are expected to come into affect next month.

This comes after Punch, which demerged from Spirit in 2011, announced the shock resignation of its chief executive, Roger Whiteside, yesterday.

The firm has always struggled since the split having been saddled with debts of more than £2 billion after years of over spending.

Spirit, on the other hand, recently announced strong financial results.