Heineken to buy 300 pubs from U.K.'s Stonegate for €350 million

Heineken is on the verge of buying 300 pubs from Stonegate, Britain’s largest pub chain, The Times reported.

Stonegate has approximately 3.5 billion euros in debt and wants to sell 1,000 of its best pubs to ease the burden.

Heineken is prepared to pay 350 million euros for the 300 pubs. The brewer already runs about 2,350 pubs in the U.K. under its Star Pubs & Bars banners and brews brands including Amstel, Birra Moretti, and Cruzcampo.

Stongate operates about 4,500 pubs nationwide but is trying to sell 1,000 prime sites to raise cash. Most of the debt was incurred when the company bought rival Enterprise Inns for 3 billion punds in 2019, leaving it loaded with loans just before the pandemic forced British pubs to close for months.

Since the pandemic, the British pub sector has also been hit by soaring costs for beer, energy, and wages, and by higher employer taxes introduced by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Although Heineken came close to a deal after talks this summer, people familiar with the matter reportedly caution there is no guarantee it will close. Several other suitors, including large investment firms, reportedly remain in the running, some of them potentially interested in the full 1,000-pub portfolio.