Pink neon sign at the Blob Shop bar, 46 Great Charlotte St, Liverpool , Merseyside, England, UK, L1 1HU

Yates is an English pub chain. It was founded as Yates's Wine Lodge in Oldham, Lancashire by Peter and Simon Yates in 1884 Yates is Britain's oldest pub chain. Its motto was moderation is true temperance. The founders, brothers Peter and Simon Yates, were from Preston. Peter (who lived from April 22, 1854–1944) was sent to Spain to learn about wine. Simon went to the US to learn about business methods. The first Yates Wine Lodge opened in Oldham in 1884 On July 23, 1994, Yates became a public company owned by the Yates Group PLC (Yates Brothers Wine Lodges PLC). The Yates Group also owned Ha! Ha! Bar & Canteen and operated pubs under the Blob Shop and Addison's name. In the late 1990s, its share price rose to reach a high of 550p in 1998. In June 2001, the Yates Group entered takeover talks with Luminar Group. In July 2001, it withdrew from takeover talks and saying it would instead sell off 25 of its pubs, later putting 18 of them up for sale. On November 1, 2001, the Yates Group sold eight pubs to Morrells for £4 million, with four being in Grantham, Slough, Solihull and Tunbridge Wells. In October 2003, Yates sold its Aussie White fortified brand to Halewood International for £1 million