Warning 40 Manchester pubs are "at risk" of closure as Stonegate looks to refinance £2.6 billion debt

Union bosses are concerned that almost 150 pubs in Greater Manchester, including 40 in the central Manchester area alone, are at risk of closure. 

The GMB union has issued a warning that the 4,500 pubs and bars in the UK that are part of the Stonegate Pub Company could close as the group’s owner, private equity firm TDR Capital, seeks to refinance around £2.6 billion of debt.  Gary Lindsay, head of TDR Capital, told the Business and Trade Select Committee last week, that he was “confident” that the debts could be refinanced this year. 

Stonegate is the largest pub group in the UK and employs 19,000 people. GMB say the refinancing could lead to “crippling payments to service the debt” and that the lack of transparency regarding the company's finances is also concerning, with the group’s ultimate holding company located in the Cayman Islands. 

Justin Bowden, GMB Regional Secretary, said: “The position with the Stonegate Pub Company’s finances is lacking in transparency, with the ultimate holding company based in the Cayman Islands. TDR Capital must be accountable to local people and they have a duty to safeguard 4,500 pubs which are vital community assets. GMB’s experience with private equity owners has been, and continues to be, wholly negative. We fear for the future of our local supermarkets and pubs in the hands of their private equity owners."

A spokesperson for Stonegate said: “We continue to invest in our pubs and our people, in particular supporting local pubs which play such a key role in their communities. Our pub business remains very resilient despite the challenges our industry faces, with good like-for-like sales growth across the group. Following our recent successful financing announced in December as well as strong recent trading, we are well placed to deliver on our longer term objectives and we are very confident in our ability to re-finance at the appropriate time.”

Which Manchester pubs could be affected?

There are some big names on the Stonegate list for Manchester, including recognisable franchises like Slug & Lettuce, Yates, Be at One and Walkabout. Some of the other Manchester Stonegate pubs and bars include student haunts like Footage and the Turing Tap, traditional pubs like the Peveril of the Peak and The Old Nags Head and South Manchester favourites, such as the Bowling Green in Chorlton and The Metropolitan in Didsbury. 

Here is the full list of 40 Manchester Stonegate pubs:

• The Metropolitan
• Bowling Green Hotel 
• The Beech Inn
• Slug & Lettuce Manchester Didsbury
• The Nelson
• The Levenshulme
• The Horseshoe
• Mowers Arms 
• The Red Beret Hotel
• Mother Macs 
• Turing Tap
• Slug & Lettuce Manchester Albert Square
• Olde Nags Head 
• Slug & Lettuce Manchester Deansgate
• Be At One Manchester
• The Lost Dene
• Footage
• The Bread Shed
• The Flour and Flagon
• The Directors Box
• The Vine Inn
• The English Lounge
• Walkabout Manchester
• Yates Manchester Printworks
• The Waldorf
• The Brewers
• The Unicorn
• Seven Oaks 
• The Crafty Pig
• Via
• Slug & Lettuce Manchester Piccadilly
• Yates Manchester
• Thompsons Arms 
• Oxnoble
• The White Lion
• Slug & Lettuce Manchester Spinningfields
• Ark Manchester
• Popworld Manchester
• City Road Inn 
• Peveril Of The Peak 
• Piccadilly Central