St Luke's & Heineken's Star Pubs Launch Celebrity Takeover to Engage New Licensees

Sep. 30, 2025

Star Pubs, the pub business of HEINEKEN UK, has recruited three celebrities in a bid to attract the next generation of licensees. As part of a year-long campaign by agency St Luke’s, the guest publicans, each of whom stars in a three-minute film, all come from diverse backgrounds and have an equally diverse dream of how a Great British Pub could be run.

Nicola Adams, the first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal and one of London 2012’s most enduringly popular faces, introduces a "Pubtathalon" theme to champion women in sport to The Dalesman in Leeds.

Love Islander and influencer, Farmer Will (AKA Will Young) dons a Stetson and cowboy boots to run a Wild West evening at The Black Pug in Warwick; and comedy rising star Helen Bauer, known for her high-energy standup and unfiltered sense of humour, sets up a spirited board games night at The Prince of Peckham in London.

Each celebrity is ably assisted by a Star Pubs business development manager who demonstrates the extensive investment, training and support available to anyone who is running one of their establishments around the UK. Extra help is also at hand from the real licensees, who are there to lend hands-on knowledge of the pub and its clientele.

St Luke’s humorous campaign is designed to give potential licensees confidence to take on the running of a pub – thanks to the support available from Star Pubs. At the same time, the films put the focus on the freedom each celebrity is given to make their own personal mark on the pub as a licensee, showcasing the fun and positive side.

The idea for the campaign comes in response to research showing that since 2022, 55% of applicants for a Star Pub have come from outside the industry. Even people joining from the hospitality trade often haven’t always worked in pubs before: 20% come from a restaurant background.

Star Pubs’ Head of Licensee Attraction, Hance McPherson, said: 

“People from outside the sector are a vital source of licensees for the nation’s pubs. The applicants we’re seeing in 2025 are looking to take on pubs after careers ranging from accountancy and law enforcement to teaching, with the biggest growth coming from those in healthcare, social work, engineering and manufacturing. It’s critical for the future of the industry to showcase all the positive sides of running a pub and to demystify the L&T [Leased & Tenant] style of agreement. When we talk to people, they’re often amazed to discover they don’t have to buy a pub; they can lease one with the freedom to run it as their own and without any big company branding above the door. We hope this campaign will give people the confidence to consider taking on a pub.”

 

Al Young, Chief Creative Officer at St Luke’s, said:

“The insight behind the idea is that, just as everyone has a book inside them, every pub goer has a pub inside them. If you love pubs, you know exactly what the pub of your dreams would be like. In each short film we hear the celebrities’ visions and then see it come together in a journey of highs and lows and, through it, showcase  the unique combination of freedom and support Star Pubs’ gives to all of their operators.”

 

Farmer Will said:

“I’ve always wanted to work in a pub. It’s really fun being surrounded by people all day, not too dissimilar to being around the animals on the farm! The struggle facing pub licensees and farming isn’t too dissimilar – we’re both facing rising costs in a difficult economic climate. In the same way I’d want customers to back British farming, it became clear in this film that showing support to your local is equally important.”

 

St Luke’s and Apostle Studios has created the three films as well as 9 x 10 second trailers teasing the films and 9 x 30 second interviews on the licensee’s experience. Launching in late September, all the films will be available online, but each celebrity will be part of their own individual three-month media burst.