Money is to be invested into the Buccaneer in Brough, the Grandale in Hull, the Green Tree in Messingham, North Linconshire, the Mist in Scarborough and the Blacksmith Arms in Rothwell.

There will also be recruitment drives at the Woodlands in Harrogate, Gibsons in York and the Duke of York at Gate Helmsley.

A £387,000 investment in The Wharfedale, a former coaching inn, would see the interior and exterior upgraded and the pub repositioned as a dining destination with 150 covers, letting rooms, a large beer garden and carpark.

There is also scope for further development of the coach house later.

Gibsons is one of the first bars at the top of Micklegate, a prime high street position on the York circuit.

The planned £280,000 refurbishment would see the pub modernised and given a makeover with exposed brickwork, comfortable seating and a brighter improved back bar.

Outside, a hidden courtyard space, a rarity on the York high-street, will be enhanced to ensure maximum use by tourists, locals, and students.

Lawson Mountstevens, Managing Director, Star Pubs & Bars, said: “People have stayed closer to home over the last two years due to the pandemic and turned to their local for the kind of experience they’d previously have travelled to a city centre, restaurant or bar to find.

“They don’t want to turn back time: they expect better quality including food and specialty drinks – such as cocktails – that are harder to recreate at home.

“It’s the same with gardens. Sitting outside at the pub has become a new occasion and, if the outside space is good enough, customers will wrap up to enjoy it even in the winter months.

Outdoor facilities also remain important for those who are still cautious about going out as the UK learns to live with Covid. We are confident that well invested pubs that adapt to market changes will have a bright, long-term future.”

Heineken to spend £2.3m on improving pubs in Hull, York, Scarborough and Leeds