Industry Hospitality Area served UK Products 220 restaurants Founded 1983 | Founder Courage Brewery Key people CEO Phil Urban Website www.harvester.co.uk Parent organization Mitchells & Butlers | |
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Headquarters Birmingham, United Kingdom Profiles | ||
Harvester Restaurants is a family farmhouse-style restaurant chain with over 230 outlets (as of Dec 2015) in the United Kingdom.
Contents
Bass
On 21 July 1995, Bass bought the 78 Harvester restaurants for £165 million. Whitbread had offered £150 million. Most Harvesters were in the south-east, and Bass had plans to rebrand other restaurants (such as the former Innkeeper's Fayre) elsewhere in England as Harvesters. When Bass divested its brewing division in 2000, the chain was looked after by the renamed company, Six Continents, until 2003.
Mitchells & Butlers
On 15 April 2003, Six Continents divested its hotel division, and the chain was taken over by the renamed company, Mitchells & Butlers plc, and had 127 outlets. By 2012 there were over 200 across the UK.
2010 return to television and radio advertising
For the first time in 10 years, Harvester Restaurants spent nearly £20,000 on advertising on both UK television and radio stations in July 2010. The advertising campaign was part of a general shift within Mitchells & Butlers plc to focus on businesses that were food led. As part of the marketing campaign, they also run "free Ice cream vouchers when you order main meal" campaigns periodically.
Environmental and hygiene failings
On 31 July 2008 Harvester Restaurants were featured on the BBC One television show Rogue Restaurants and shown to be operating without regard to certain food hygiene regulations.
In November 2015 the chain was one of seven restaurants surveyed that failed to meet a basic level of sustainability in its seafood.
Products
The chain specialises in flame grilled food, spit-roasted chicken and help yourself salad carts.
Harvesters are often located near an Innkeeper's Lodge, also owned by M & B.