PUB giant Greene King has this week confirmed plans to shut dozens of pubs and cut about 800 jobs.

The news comes as trade slumped following the 10pm hospitality curfew.

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The company said it will keep 79 of its sites shut for the time being, with around one third of these closures expected to be permanent.

No official confirmations have been made by the firm yet, but for Reading, the announcement means three of the town's 14 branches are potentially at risk, having remained closed for now.

Greene King pubs in Reading which haven't reopened 

  • Rose and Thistle, Argyle Road
    Reading Chronicle: Rose and Thistle Rose and Thistle
     
  • George and Dragon, Bath Road

    Reading Chronicle: George and DragonGeorge and Dragon
     
  • Bull and Chequers, Church Road

    Reading Chronicle: Bull and ChequersBull and Chequers

A spokeswoman for Greene King said: "The continued tightening of the trading restrictions for pubs, which may last another six months, along with the changes to government support was always going to make it a challenge to reopen some of our pubs.

"Therefore, we have made the difficult decision not to reopen 79 sites, including the 11 Loch Fyne restaurants we announced last week.

"Around one-third will be closed permanently and we hope to be able to reopen the others in the future.

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"We are working hard with our teams to try and find them a role in another of our pubs wherever possible.

"We urgently need the Government to step in and provide tailored support to help the sector get through to the spring and prevent further pub closures and job losses."