FULLER's has filed a lawsuit against insurance giants Aviva and Liberty Mutual in a dispute over a "business interruption" claim.

Fuller Smith & Turner confirmed to City A.M. it is suing the two insurers "in relation to a claim under our business interruption insurance" but refused to state the value of the claim or comment further.

Fuller's filed its case against Liberty and Aviva on 2 February in the UK's commercial court.

The pub group's lawsuit follows a surge in business interruption claims from hospitality firms against insurers, which have paid out more than £1.2bn to companies that were forced to close during the lockdowns.

Fuller's currently owns around 400 pubs throughout Britain, having previously sold its brewing business to Japanese firm Asahi in 2019.

The pub chain closed all of its UK pubs after the British government introduced lockdown measures in 2020 in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Fuller's posted a £59.2m loss for the financial year ending in March 2021 as the restrictions battered its revenues.

Aviva was approached for comment, while Liberty Mutual declined to comment.

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper