Heineken’s Star Pubs & Bars unit is revamping around a quarter of its properties in the UK with a GBP42m (US$52.5m) investment. Around 660 outlets are set to benefit, of which 137 have been marked for renovation works valued at around GBP125,000. The company is viewing its remodelling programme through a post-pandemic lens and is selecting both suburban bars as well as those located close to residential areas. The group predicts that consumers will continue to work from home and travel less frequently into city centres. “People have stayed closer to home over the last two years due to the pandemic and have turned to their local for the kind of experience they’d previously have travelled to a city centre restaurant or bar to find,” said Star Pubs & Bars' MD, Lawson Mountstevens. “They expect better quality including food and special drinks - such as cocktails - that are harder to recreate at home." Heineken made its way into two well-known British pubs last month, with the brewer signing a deal to display Heineken 0.0 Draught in pubs featured in UK soap operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Just Drinks presents 'The 24th Annual International Beer Strategies Conference' on 4-6 October