Largest pub company in the UK dispels fears that pubs in Sussex and Surrey are ‘at risk’ following warning

GMB claims more than 750 Stonegate pubs across the South East could close after the company issued a profit warning.

GMB said there were no guarantees that Southgate – who are owned by TDR Capital, a private equity firms that also owns Asda – could continue as it struggles to refinance a £2.2bn ‘debt mountain’.

Stonegate is the largest pub company in the UK, with more than 4,500 pubs and more than 19,000 workers, including brands like Slug and Lettuce, Yates and Walkabout.

The chain has 758 pubs across South East England – and has establishments in Brighton and Hove, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge, Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother, Wealden, Elmbridge, Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley, Woking, Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex, Adur, Arun, Chichester, and Worthing districts.

GMB has written to Lian Myrne MP, chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, asking him to recall TDR bosses in light of the profit warning.

Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, said: “TDR bosses are private equity gamblers - playing fast and loose with people’s jobs and lives.

“When their risky ventures go wrong, they swan off to their next project, leaving workers and communities to pick up the pieces.

“Now, hundreds of much loved pubs across the South East are now in serious danger of pulling their last pint.

“It’s a disgrace.”

But Stonegate said ‘no venues’ were ‘at risk’, despite GMB’s claims.

A spokesperson for Stonegate said: “We are really pleased with the performance of the business in 2023, which included a sector-leading Christmas trading period.

“We have delivered a rise in revenue and a significant increase in profitability.

“We have been very clear that we continue to work towards achieving our long-term balance sheet goals, with the successful refinancing of a portion of our estate in December marking a significant strategic step towards this.

“We would also like to assure our employees and partners that no venues are at risk as a result of this process.”

“TDR Capital has been and continues to be a supportive investor in Stonegate – developing the business over the last 14 years into the UK’s largest pub company with 4,500 great venues across the country.”