Hall & Woodhouse champions Dorset with over £2.5m investment into its heartland estate in 2024

Hall & Woodhouse (H&W), the leading family brewer, invested over £2.5million into its Dorset pub estate during 2024.

Over the last 12 months investment has been made to refurbish 10 H&W pubs in the county. The planned renovation work included refurbishing the pubs’ interiors, creating new accommodation for guests, and updating the external structure and landscaping at some of Dorset’s favourite pubs.

H&W’s state-of-the-art brewery in Blandford also received an investment of over £150k to enable the development and launch of its new Outland Stout. The majority of this investment was made into the keg line, which allows H&W to brew, package, and dispense an authentic stout with a thick creamy head. Almost all of H&W’s managed pubs and over half of its Business Partnership (tenanted) estate now serve Outland Stout.

Mark James, Property Director at Hall & Woodhouse said: “It is our company’s purpose to make people’s day and enrich our communities, so it is of the upmost importance that we continually reinvest into our beautiful pub estate. We want our pubs to feel like home for our guests, and they need to remain fit for purpose to deliver the warm hospitality that we pride ourselves on, for many generations to come.”

Hall & Woodhouse was granted planning permission to transform The Marquis of Granby in Weymouth earlier this year. The brewer invested £340K to give the pub’s exterior a fresh look with a new entrance way. The pub has been closed while the work was carried out and is reopening to guests on Thursday 12^th December.

Additionally, The Lulworth Cove Inn has benefitted from £250K of external refurbishments and H&W built additional guest accommodation. The Beach House in Milford on Sea has also seen an investment of £125K to refurbish its existing guest accommodation.

H&W purchased The Royal Lion Hotel in Lyme Regis in 2022 and invested £300K into refurbishing 10 of the hotel’s bedrooms this year, delivering H&W’s typical coastal style. Further refurbishment of the remaining rooms and downstairs trading areas are planned over the next two years.

The Smuggler’s Inn at Osmington in Weymouth is to benefit from the creation of four additional guest bedrooms in January 2025, taking the pub’s total to eight charming rooms on the Jurassic Coast. £500k has been budgeted for the work which will complete in time for spring staycations.

Other pubs that have undergone extensive refurbishment this year include The St. Peter’s Finger in Lytchett Minster, The Amberwood in Christchurch, The Rising Sun in Wimborne, and The King’s Arms in Shaftesbury.