A MAJOR pub chain is reportedly planning to sell more than 1,000 of its venues as it battles with billions of pounds of debt.
Stonegate Group, which owns the Slug & Lettuce and Be At One chains, is said to be exploring options for almost a quarter of its 4,300 venues.
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Stonegate has more than 4,000 venues and owns popular chains Slug & Lettuce and Be At OneCredit: Alamy
The Times is reporting that bosses at Stonegate have been holding discussions with potential advisers.
The pub chain turned over more than £1.7billion last year but it has racked up debts of more than £3billion.
Bosses are hoping they could raise funds by selling off 1,034 of Stonegate’s pubs.
The pubs being considered for sale are some of the chain’s best properties and it’s believed they could be valued at as much as £1billion.
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A Stonegate spokesperson confirmed to The Sun that no venues are at risk of closure.
For now, the pubs are continuing to operate as normal under the Stonegate brand.
Stonegate had tried to sell a similar number of its pubs in 2023 but was unsuccessful.
Instead, it managed to refinance 1,000 of its pubs with the debt firm Apollo to inject some fresh cash into the business.
Now it is considering its options because a non-call period on the loan from Apollo – which meant Stonegate couldn’t sell off the pubs – is ending in January.
Stonegate is owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, which is also in charge of Asda.
What’s been happening to the pub chain?
Stonegate was formed in 2010 when TDR bought a package of 333 pubs from Mitchells & Butlers.
It became a big player in the pub trade over the decade that followed thanks to a string of acquisitions.
In 2019, it completed a mega merger with rival company Ei – making it Britain’s biggest pub chain.
But the deal left the company with debt just months before the Covid pandemic forced pubs to shut.
Since the end of the pandemic, pub chains have been weighed down with high interest rates, higher employee costs and higher food and energy bills.
Stonegate’s chief executive David McDowall said last year he was implementing a “transformation plan” to return the company to profit.
The firm suffered a loss of £214million in 2024.
The strategy has involved converting hundreds of pubs run by Stonegate to tenanted and leased pubs which are rented out to and run by publicans.
As part of this plan, the pub chain put 23 of its locations up for sale in September.
This is the full list of sites put up for sale:
- Dog & Duck, Walthamstow
- Fagins, Brookthorpe
- Feathers, Chalfont St Giles
- Frankland Arms, Washington
- Garden Bar, Hove
- Golden Ball, York
- Harbour Moon, West Looe
- Letters Inn, Tattenhall
- Malthouse, Timsbury
- Milehouse, Cross Heath
- Moorings, Loughborough
- Pax Inn, Thorp Arch
- Romantica, Sutton Coldfield
- Salthouse Hotel, Clevedon
- Seven Stars, Canterbury
- Star, Hampton Hill
- Wickham Arms, Brockley
- Windmill, Peterborough
A spokesperson for Stonegate said at the time: “As the UK’s largest pub company, we regularly review our portfolio for divestment opportunities. This package being marketed by Savills is a business-as-usual transaction.”
Tough times for UK pubs
Many of Britain’s pub and bar chains are still reeling from the impact of the pandemic and cost of living crisis which followed shortly after.
The hike in costs to every day goods has meant that punters have less money to part with at the till.
Earlier this year, Oakman Inns & Restaurants entered into administration, putting 19 sites at risk of closing for good.
The group has blamed the hangover from the pandemic and elevated interest rates and costs for its troubles.
It was also discovered The Coconut Tree would be wound up after defaulting on its Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA).
The Sri Lankan restaurant group entered into the agreement last July, according to a report in Restaurant Online, with the group required to initially repay £27,000 a month for the first three months.
Elsewhere, Officina 00, a popular pasta join, closed three locations across Covent Garden, Fitzrovia and Old Street.
The Cosy Club at Ipswich’s Buttermarket Shopping Centre announced it made the “very difficult decision” to close doors on May 31.
Hikes to National Insurance have also hit pub chains hard.
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The chief executive of Fuller’s said the group upped the price of a pint of beer after being hit with £8million in extra costs as a result.
Simon Emeny exclusively told The Sun prices would likely rise by 10p to offset its added costs.
