Former Whitbread bosses buy back dozens of Beefeater restaurants 

Former senior managers at Whitbread have led a deal to buy back nearly 60 restaurants from the group, after it wound up its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains last month. Common Table Group, a British hospitality firm, has agreed to buy 57 restaurant sites and one Premier Inn hotel from the FTSE 100 hotels giant. The buyers were supported by Rove360, a hospitality consultancy made up of former Whitbread senior managers. The move will create 700 new jobs and was agreed for an undisclosed sum. The restaurants which include former Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Cookhouse sites will reopen their doors from next month. Common Table Group, which was founded by coffee entrepreneur Thomas Anderson, said it will invest in refurbishing these restaurants and developing “exciting” new menus. Anderson said: “Our priority is to get the sites back open and trading as soon as possible. We’re building an entrepreneurial business with a local feel, where our teams are empowered to m