Britain’s biggest pub group is considering the sale of 1,000 sites in a move that could be worth £1 billion, according to reports.
Bosses at Stonegate Group, which own 4,300 pubs across the UK, are in talks over selling around a quarter of that number as executives try to make up around £3 billion in accrued debts.
The Slug & Lettuce and Be At One owner is reported to have sat down with advisers over the possibility of putting their “platinum” collection on the market, according to The Times.
This portfolio of 1,034 pubs, formed of the group’s best properties, form a separate entity within the company which experts say could be sold off without damaging the rest of their stock.
Stonegate Group became saddled with the £3 billion deficit after its merger with rival company Ei in 2019 - just months before the Covid lockdown left the industry in tatters.
It tried to sell a number of pubs unsuccessfully, before managing to securitise the platinum pubs with a £638 million loan from private equity house Apollo.
Its bosses are considering their options now as a non-call period on Apollo’s loan which has prevented them from selling or refinancing the pubs is set to end in January. The Times reports that one option being considered by executives is selling the pubs off in groups of hundreds rather than pursuing a sale of the entire group.
Stonegate’s chief executive, David McDowall, previously said he would implement a “transformation plan”, but the firm suffered a loss of £214 million in 2024. McDowall joined Stonegate in 2023 from BrewDog.
It also follows challenging conditions in the UK hospitality industry following Covid and the cost of living crisis, and hikes in employers’ national insurance contributions and the minimum wage.
Stonegate Group has been contacted for comment.
