Stonegate Group is once again considering the sale of its Platinum portfolio, a selection of 1,000 UK pubs valued at approximately £1bn, as the company attempts to plug the £3bn debt created by the purchase of Ei Group immediately pre-pandemic.

Stonegate Group has once again moved to place its 1,000-strong Platinum pub portfolio on the market, as the company sets about the task to offset a £3bn debt pile accrued after the purchase of Ei Group just one year prior to the pandemic.

The proposed sale, estimated to be worth £1bn, was first attempted by the company in 2023 before securing a £638m loan from private equity firm Apollo, with the non-call period on the loan now due to end in January 2026.

“We are looking at options for the Platinum portfolio, of circa 1,000 Leased and Tenanted pubs, which could include a refinancing, partial sale, or full sale of the Platinum sites but as we explained to our bondholders, no decisions have been made,” a Stonegate spokesperson told The Mirror.

“We are continuing to make good progress on our transformation strategy.”

At the time, Stonegate said the 2023 offer was “a business-as-usual transaction,” however the economic uncertainty regarding the Hospitality industry may be one reason to accelerate the sale, representative of almost 25 percent of its 4,300-pub estate.

According to The Times, one option being considered by the company is “selling the pubs off in groups of hundreds rather than pursuing a sale of the entire group.”

The announcement comes after Stonegate put 23 of its pubs on the market in September, which followed reports in The Telegraph that the group was working with restructuring specialists at AlixPartners.

The company’s “transformation strategy” was first announced by David McDowall, after he joined Stonegate as CEO in 2023, and became more urgent after losses reached £214m in 2024.