Heineken has revealed plans to invest more than £44 million into improvements for hundreds of its UK pubs. The Dutch brewing giant said the cash injection into its Star Pubs operation, which runs 2,350 sites across the UK, will create around 850 jobs. The major investment plan comes despite a challenging backdrop for the pub sector. Pubs have come under pressure from rising labour costs and increases to national insurance contributions over the past year, while consumer spending has also come under pressure with concerns over inflation and rising unemployment. However, pubs received additional business rates support from the Government from last month to help ease their cost pressures. Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs’ managing director, said the company’s investment plan is partly aimed at boosting revenues to help the group cope with the recent “sustained increases in running costs”. The plans will see the business invest £44.5 million this year into upgrades for 647 of its pubs.…