Budweiser is raising a glass to Britain’s struggling pubs by launching a £1m gift card initiative for locked out patrons to pre-purchase drinks ahead of their eventual post-coronavirus reopening.

The Save Pub Life campaign seeks to bring forward spending to help tide landlords over, during a period of unprecedented disruption as Britain’s pub culture is put on ice to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The UK government ordered every pub and bar in the country to close its doors in order to discourage social gatherings that could spread the virus – but such a drastic measure risks killing off an industry already struggling.

Fearing the loss of business this would entail, Budweiser is doing all it can to help by pledging to match all purchases up to a combined cap of £1m, helping to maintain cash flows through this difficult period.

Budweiser Brewing Group president Paula Lindenberg commented: ”We know that Brits are passionate about pubs, so we have launched our ‘Save Pub Life’ programme to help them support their local during this time.”

Budweiser has previously announced it will redirect sport and entertainment spend toward non-profits. Rival brewer Diageo has launched its support package with Guinness pledging £1m to support British bartenders’ wages.

On Friday, TBWAMCR and Havas Lynx won The Drum’s One Minute Brief competition to mitigate the fallout from the pandemic with a concept for ‘The Staying Inn’ – a digital pub for drinkers to congregate without leaving their homes.