UK’s Biggest Pub Chain Sees Debt Costs Surge To Nearly £500 Million

Britain’s largest pub company saw its financing costs soar by 50% to nearly £500 million last year, as high interest rates intensified pressure on its already heavy debt load, Daniel Woolfson reported for The Telegraph.

Stonegate Pub Co. owns the Slug & Lettuce and Be At One chains. I Photo: Slug & Lettuce

Stonegate Pub Co.—owner of the Slug & Lettuce and Be At One chains—reported a £214 million loss for the year ending October 2024. Its debt servicing costs rose from £301 million to £455 million, while revenue across its 4,500 pubs grew by just £28 million to £1.74 billion, according to recently published filings.

The figures underscore the financial strain on the private equity-owned business, which is burdened with £3.6 billion in debt.

Last July, Stonegate’s owners, TDR Capital, injected £250 million into the company to avert default as part of a major refinancing. That transaction extended the repayment timeline for its debt to 2029, and in return, TDR ceded a stake in the business to lender Albacore Capital, which also gained the right to appoint a director to the board.