Oxfordshire pubs at risk of closing due to debt concerns

More than 4500 pubs across the UK, including Slug & Lettuce branches, are at risk of closing as the business owner deals with £2.6 billion worth of debt. There is a Slug & Lettuce at Oxford Castle.

All Stonegate pubs in the UK could soon close their doors, according to the GMB Union, as the owner TDR Capital seeks a new deal.

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The City Arms in Cowley Road is owned by the company, together with other pubs and bars across the county. Another is Zinc and Fever club in Banbury.

Gary Lindsay, Boss of TDR Capital which also owns supermarket giant Asda, told the Business and Trade Select Committee on January 9 he was "confident" £2.6 billion of debts in the Stonegate Pub Company could be refinanced this year.

However,  the union said this may be difficult due to high interest rates and raised concerns that attempts to refinance could lead to "crippling" payments required to service the debt.

GMB Regional Secretary Justin Bowden said: “The position with the Stonegate Pub Company’s finances is lacking in transparency, with the ultimate holding company based in the Cayman Islands.

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“TDR Capital must be accountable to local people and they have a duty to safeguard 4,500 pubs which are vital community assets."

Stonegate is one of the largest pub companies in the UK, responsible for more than 19,000 jobs.

Dave Richardson, of the Oxford branch of real ale group CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), said Stonegate's situation was worrying.

He added: "Many people don’t realise that their local pub is in fact owned by a large, often debt-laden property company whose priority may be to maximise the value of the property rather than keep it on as a pub.

“So it’s always worrying when things beyond a pub’s control start to affect its owner, but if some of these pubs were to be sold off we would hope this is to operators with a genuine interest in running them as pubs rather than another property or finance company.

"Unfortunately the history of such companies is often one takeover after another, meaning continuing uncertainty for staff and customers.”

Stonegate spokesperson 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.”

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A Stonegate spokesman 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.”

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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