Heineken steps in with £300m mega-deal to save 300 boozers as Britain’s biggest pub chain faces £3bn debt nightmare

DUTCH brewing giant Heineken is on the brink of snapping up 300 boozers in a £300million deal for Britain’s biggest pub chain. The mammoth buyout, first reported by The Times, would throw a vital lifeline to Stonegate as it battles a crippling £3billion debt mountain. Stonegate operates around 4,500 pubs across the country but has been desperately trying to offload a premium “platinum” group of 1,000 venues to raise cash. Heineken already runs around 2,350 watering holes in Britain under its Star Pubs & Bars banner and brews beloved lagers including Birra Moretti, Amstel and Cruzcampo. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! The massive debt weighing down Stonegate was largely racked up when it bought rival chain Enterprise Inns in a £3billion takeover back in 2019. This lumbered the hospitality giant with huge borrowings right before the pandemic forced the nation’s pubs to shut their doors for months. Since then, the pub industry has been battered by soaring costs for beer, energy and wages, alongside painful employment tax hikes brought in by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves. While Heineken is closing in on a deal following summer negotiations, City insiders warn that other heavyweight bidders are still circling. Major private equity firms including Terra Firma and Bain Capital could still swoop in with a bid to buy all 1,000 of the prime freehold locations up for grabs. Under boss David McDowall, Stonegate has been radically overhauling its business and recently asked some landlords to accept rent cuts to avoid more drastic restructuring measures. Most read in Money The company recently saw its losses narrow from £75million to £42million, though it is currently facing a probe by the sector watchdog over how it treats its tenants. A Stonegate spokesman said: “As we have previously said, we continue to look at options for the Platinum portfolio, which could include a refinancing, partial sale or full sale of the Platinum sites. “No decisions have been made. We are continuing to make good progress on our transformation strategy, with profits up 9% to a record £201million in the first half of the year.” Comment now