The pubs are now on the market for as little as £450,000 each
Estate agent Savills has been instructed to sell 22 pubs across England. Stonegate Group, which owns Slug & Lettuce and Be At One, was last year said to be exploring the sale of more than 1,000 pubs – and has now put 22 on the market.
The chain has 4,300 venues, which means it could be set to let go of almost a quarter of its sites. The Times first reported that Stonegate bosses have been speaking with potential advisers. The paper 1,034 of its “platinum” pubs could be sold, with a collective value as high as £1billion. Stonegate turned over more than £1.7billion last year but has debts of more than £3billion.
Stonegate racked up much of its debt through its 2019 acquisition of Ei Group, which took place months before the coronavirus pandemic forced pubs to shut across the country.
A spokesperson from Stonegate told The Mirror: “We are looking at options for the Platinum portfolio, of circa 1,000 Leased and Tenanted pubs, which could include a refinancing, partial sale, or full sale of the Platinum sites but as we explained to our bondholders, no decisions have been made. We are continuing to make good progress on our transformation strategy.”
Stonegate tried to sell a similar number of its pubs in 2023 but the sale was not successful. Following this, the pub group refinanced 1,000 of its venues with a £638million loan from private equity house Apollo.
The chain has now put 22 pubs up for sale.
A spokesperson for Stonegate said last year: “As the UK’s largest pub company, we regularly review our portfolio for divestment opportunities.”
The properties are all let on long leases with annual Retail Price Index linked rent reviews. The pubs include:
- Bell, Solihull – £1,250,000 (7.46%)
- Bo-Peep, Orpington – £730,000 (7.74% NIY)
- Bridge Arms, Canterbury – £900,000 (8.38% NIY)
- Chequers, Norwich – £690,000 (8.50% NIY)
- Church House Inn, Paignton – £700,000 (9.38% NIY)
- Crown, Bath – £950,000 (8.52% NIY)
- Dog and Fox Inn, Bradford-on-Avon – £715,000 (8.31% NIY)
- Dovecote Inn, Tonbridge – £625,000 (7.88% NIY)
- Green Man, Welling, London – £950,000 (7.73% NIY)
- Hobnails Inn, Tewkesbury – £1,075,000 (7.43% NIY)
- Kings Head, Yarmouth – £865,000 (7.94% NIY)
- Kyoto Kitchen, Winchester – £875,000 (9.02% NIY)
- Lamb Inn, Weston-Super-Mare – £475,000 (9.53% NIY)
- Louisiana, Bristol – £525,000 (8.50% NIY)
- Market Hotel, Alton – £675,000 (7.92% NIY)
- Merry Monk, Taunton – £1,200,000 (9.63% NIY)
- St George’s Vaults, Cheltenham – £450,000 (7.35% NIY)
- Swan Hotel, Hythe – £710,000 (9.44% NIY)
- Trout Inn, Cirencester – £800,000 (6.31% NIY)
- Union Inn, Newton Abbot – £450,000 (8.08% NIY)
- White Horse Inn, Somerset – £555,000 (7.75% NIY)
- World’s End, Northampton – £1,500,000 (8.08% NIY)
Stuart Stares, Director in Savills licensed leisure, said: “Pubs remain one of the most resilient and appealing investment classes in today’s market, underpinned by strong fundamentals such as long-term leases, index-linked rent reviews and strong underlying property value. Investor confidence is being reinforced by improving trading results across the sector, particularly during the Christmas trading period alongside a more optimistic economic background including easing interest rates and steady consumer spending. Consequently, we’re seeing growing demand for well-let pub assets, particularly those offering secure income and long-term growth opportunities.”
