Britain’s biggest pub group is considering a sale of more than 1,000 sites in a bid to make up the company’s debt.
Bosses at Stonegate Group, which owns chains such as Slug & Lettuce and Be At One, have reportedly been holding talks with advisers over the future of some of its boozers.
The plan would involve putting 1,034 venues on the market as a ‘platinum’ collection of the group’s best properties out of their 4,300 sites, according to The Times.
The company currently faces £3billion of debt. This follows its merger with rival company Ei in 2019, which made it the largest pub group in Britain.
In 2023 Stonegate tried to sell 1,000 of its pubs, but instead refinanced them with a £638million loan from the debt firm Apollo to inject money into the company.
The loan had a non-call period which means the pub group cannot sell or refinance the pubs until January, so executives are now considering their options for this upcoming expiry.
One option on the table is putting the pubs up for sale in hundreds rather than just selling the whole lot, reports The Times.
Stonegate had previously declared a ‘resilient performance’ in 2024 with a revenue of £1.7billion, compared to £1.6billion the year before.
Chief executive David McDowall said challenges such as ‘on-going inflation, cost of living pressures and energy prices’ affected profits last year, alongside ‘unseasonable wet weather and recurring industrial action’ impacting customer footfall.
McDowall was appointed to the CEO position in February 2023 after previously working at BrewDog.
Stonegate reportedly implemented dynamic pricing in 800 of its venues in September 2023 for busier times in a move allowing pubs to offer ‘a range of promotions’.
Pubs in the UK have said they are under pressure due to increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage, with some landlords now fearing they will be ‘overlooked’ in the Budget on November 26.
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