Customers of two major UK restaurant chains are being urged to use their loyalty rewards before it’s too late amid impending closures.
Whitbread is closing all 105 Beefeater and 89 Brewers Fayre sites in the coming weeks, with final closure dates set for early September.
The mass closures are part of a major restructuring plan and strategy change.
Customers are now being reminded to redeem accrued points to avoid losing them.
Warning to Beefeater and Brewers Fayre customers over loyalty points
A fresh email warning them to use remaining rewards as the sites prepare to close has been sent.
One from Beefeater reads: "We want to say a huge thank you for your custom at our Beefeater restaurants.
"As you may have seen, we have recently announced changes to your business, which is resulting in the closure of our Branded Restaurants."
The email explains that the Beefeater Reward Club and other loyalty schemes, Bonus Club and Tasty Rewards, will close on Monday, August 31.
Points or receipt information must be entered into the loyalty scheme by Monday, August 24, and points must be converted to vouchers and redeemed by August 31.
All unredeemed points will expire and be wiped from the system at 7am on September 1.
Brewers Fayre has similar rewards with its loyalty scheme ending at the same time.
Why is Beefeater and Brewers Fayre closing?
The closures follow Whitbread’s announcement in April of a full shutdown of its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre sites.
The company is shifting its strategy to focus on expanding its Premier Inn hotel business.
Dominic Paul, chief executive of Whitbread, said previously: "We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and national insurance, as well as the implied market discount to our inherent value, we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.
"This has been a rigorous process and we’ve approached all options with an open mind.
"Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy.
"This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.
"We’re going to go further and faster to deliver a great experience for our guests and high-quality growth and returns for our shareholders."
As part of the transition, nearly 3800 jobs are at risk.
Whitbread has indicated that while some employees may be redeployed within the company, significant redundancies are likely.
The closures are part of a broader plan to convert restaurant sites into additional Premier Inn rooms.
The company also intends to sell around £1.5 billion worth of freehold property to support its expansion.
Currently, Whitbread operates around 86,600 hotel rooms and plans to grow this to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year.
Brewers Fayre will close its remaining restaurants on September 7.
Beefeater will shut its final sites three days later, on September 10.
Whitbread has said it regrets the impact on staff and is working to support those affected during the transition.
