Samuel Smith Old Brewery: ‘Inexperienced’ couples wanted to manage pubs for 'UK’s strangest brewery' with free accommodation, utility bills included and a shared wage of £55,189

Established in 1758, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery now has around 200 pubs, but many of them are searching for ‘local couples’ who have never run a pub before to apply to manage them.

Samuel Smith’s currently has 133 vacancies listed on their website and Gumtree.

The job advert says: “We’re looking for couples to manage our pubs, preferably local to the pub.

“In every case a good manager’s flat is provided rent-free with no utility costs. We prefer to recruit couples who haven’t run a pub before and are from the communities near to where our pubs are situated.

“We give full training at the brewery, including a personal licence course.

“We don’t charge for the training, except £39 for the personal licence course and £1,000 deposited fidelity bond (£1,500 in the south).

“All our managers are salaried. NB: We require both managers to work full time in the pub and have no other job.”

The couple must apply together, and successful couples will earn £55,180 joint salary (£27,590 each).

At the helm of this unconventional chain is its equally unconventional owner, Humphrey Smith.

Humphrey has been the head honcho since the 1970s and has acquired a vast portfolio of historic properties, pubs, and hotels, yet many are empty.

Many of Sam Smith’s pubs are in small villages and towns. They have notoriously strict rules banning mobile and digital devices, swearing, and kids must only use the garden, but under supervision.

You can also only buy Sam Smith's beer at the pubs.

Traditionally, pubs were at the heart of every community, particularly villages.

Since Sam Smith's-owned Castle Inn near York in Sheriff Hutton closed in 2021, it has remained empty.

Villagers even held a candlelit vigil as a protest against the 200-year-old pub remaining closed.

Now, the Castle Inn near York is listed as one of the 133 pubs needing managers.

The ad reads: “Live in pub management couple required to run unspoilt small locals pub in country village.

“Open fires, small dining room, public bar. In a country village, farming, racehorse training etc.”

Management positions are available at a range of locations where the pub has stood closed for a while, including many in Yorkshire: Wetherby, Kippax, Guiseley, Pudsey, Harrogate, Wakefield, Bolton Percy, Maltby, Tadcaster, Boston Spa, Otley, Whitby, and Dewsbury.

Find out more information about the jobs here.