Slug & Lettuce owner 'planning' to close 1,000 venues

2023-02-01

Could YOUR local boozer be closing? Bosses at pub giant which owns the Slug & Lettuce and Be At One chain ‘eyes up closing 1,000 venues after accruing £2.5BN debt during lockdown’

Pub company Stonegate is ‘planning’ to sell 1,000 pubs to pay £2.6billion debt
It comes after Whetherspoons confirmed ten of its pubs will be closing for good

A major hospitality chain is ‘planning’ to sell 1,000 pubs across Britain to reduce its debt.

Stonegate, which owns brands like Slug and Lettuce and Be At One, is looking to sell off 1,000 pubs to help pay off £2.6billion of debt.

The chain, owned by private equity firm TDR capital, is hoping to sell the pubs off for an estimated £800million, according to Bloomberg.

It comes after Wetherspoons confirmed ten of its pubs will be closing for good after being sold – with another 35 branches up for sale.

Stonegate, which owns brands like Slug and Lettuce (pictured) and Be At One (pictured below), is looking to sell off 1,000 of its pubs to help pay off £2.6billion of debt

The company, owned by private equity firm TDR capital, is hoping to sell the pubs off for an estimated £800million

Stonegate completed a takeover of Ei, then the UK’s biggest company, before the Covid-19 crisis and created a firm which has 4,500 sites.

But the industry has faced a crisis since trying to bounce back from the pandemic which saw lockdowns temporarily close the hospitality sector.

The industry is also under increased pressure due to changing leisure habits and the cost-of-energy crisis.

UK Hospitality said the sector was facing a ‘winter challenge like no other’ and although energy bills are capped for businesses, the support will end on March 31.

Wetherspoons also noted that costs were far higher than three years ago, especially for labour, food, energy and maintenance.

Its chairman Tim Martin said: ‘The aftermath of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been far more difficult than anyone thought. That is the picture for the whole pub and restaurant industry.

‘People thought that after lockdown there would be a boom in people suffering from cabin fever but, instead, it has almost been the opposite situation as people have got in the habit of staying in.

‘That’s the big thing that means sales are down on 2019. Things are improving now but it’s slow.’

Stonegate declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

Whetherspoons pubs that have been sold and are up for sale

Harvest Moon, Orpington

Alexander Bain, Wick

Chapel an Gansblydhen, Bodmin

Moon on the Square, Basildon

Coal Orchard, Taunton

Running Horse, Airside Doncaster Airport

Wild Rose, Bootle

Edmund Halley, Lee Green

Postal Order, Worcester

North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham

Wetherspoons pubs still up for sale:

The Butlers Bell, Stafford

Worlds Inn, Romford

Silkstone Inn, Barnsley

Wrong ‘Un, Bexleyheath

The Percy Shaw, Halifax

Jolly Sailor, Hanham

The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green

The Moon & Bell, Loughborough

The Widow Frost, Mansfield

Resolution, Middlesbrough

Foxley Hatch, Purley

The Rising Sun, Redditch

Sennockian, Sevenoaks

Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton

The Colombia Press, Watford

The Malthouse, Willenhall

The John Masefield, New Ferry

The Crosse Keys, Peebles

Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham

The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh

General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton

Plough & Harrow, Hammersmith

Thomas Leaper, Derby

Cliftonville, Hove

Tollgate, Turnpike Lane

Asparagus, Battersea

Millers Well, East Ham

Hudson Bay, Forest Gate

Angel, Islington

The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich

Capitol, Forest Hill

The Bankers Draft, Eltham

Moon on the Hill, Harrow

The Bank House, Cheltenham

Last Post, Loughton.

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