Pub giant Greene King said only just over a third of its managed pubs will be able to reopen in Wales next week when outdoor hospitality can resume.
With the Welsh Government having confirmed a return of outdoor hospitality from April 26th, as more Covid restrictions are lifted, Greene King said that 12 of its 30 managed pubs in Wales have the required garden space to allow them to reopen.
They are: the Harbour (Rhyl). the Ship (Barry); Three Elms (Whitchurch, Cardiff); Oystercatcher (Penarth); Dylan Thomas (Llansamlet); New Inn Motel (Langstone); Pub on the Pond (Swansea); Parc-Y-Prior Inn (Malpas); Offas Dyke Hotel (Broughton); Court House (Caerphilly); Claude (Cardiff) and Tredegar Arms (Bassaleg).
Moreover, 60 Brains pubs in Wales, out of a estate of more than 150, will also be opening from Monday.
Outdoor hospitality in England resumed on April 12th. Greene King said was able to reopen just under a third of its managed pubs in England with 442. Opening of its tenancy pubs is a matter for their respective landlords.
Greene King chief executive, Nick Mackenzie, said: “We’re excited to be able to reopen outdoor spaces at just under half of our managed pubs in Wales and can’t wait to welcome our customers back safely to enjoy a pint in a beer garden.
“Sadly, the majority of our pubs in Wales won’t be able to reopen in April as they either don’t have outdoor space or there is no prospect of them being viable, but we know the vital role pubs play in communities and feel it’s important to open as many as we can to help people get back together once again.
“We look forward to more information being announced on the reopening plans for indoor hospitality, and with England planning a return to normality in June when the restrictions are fully removed, we hope that a similar lifting of restrictions can also take place in Wales over the summer to allow businesses to rebuild.
"Until then, here’s hoping the weather in May is kind and allows plenty of opportunities to visit a pub garden.”
The Welsh Government has previously indicated that indoor hospitality will open ahead of the spring half term which starts on May 28th. First Minister will give an update on Friday.
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Hospitality and tourism groups, as well as Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives, have called for the sector to open indoors on May 17th - two weeks earlier than planned and in line with England.
It comes as Wales has the lowest infection rates and highest vaccination rates of all the Ƶ nations. The infection rate across Wales now stands at 15.4 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days up to April 15.
On indoor hospitality, Mr Drakeford said: “I will be making an announcement about that on Friday.
“I want to do it in the orderly way that we do.
That decision will lie the other side of the election (Senedd on May 6th), but I will set out what a Labour government would do in the three weeks that follow the election, as we have regularly given a forward signal to indoor hospitality, to the rest of the tourism industry and other things about what we think the public health context would now allow."
