Heineken in Talks to Buy 300 Stonegate Pubs in a Deal Worth £300m

Heineken is reportedly close to agreeing a deal to buy around 300 pubs from Stonegate Group, in a transaction said to be worth about £300 million.

According to the Sunday Times, Stonegate, the UK’s largest pub operator, plans to sell up to 1,000 of its strongest-performing sites as part of efforts to reduce borrowings of around £3 billion (roughly €3.5 billion).

The Dutch brewer already has a significant presence in the UK on-trade. Its Star Pubs & Bars business runs around 2,350 pubs, and its UK portfolio includes Birra Moretti, Amstel and Cruzcampo.

Stonegate operates about 4,500 pubs nationwide. Much of its debt dates from its acquisition of Ei Group, formerly Enterprise Inns, in a deal worth about £3 billion. That deal was agreed in 2019 and left the group heavily leveraged shortly before Covid-19 restrictions forced pubs to close for extended periods.

Trading has since improved. Stonegate said in June that it had delivered the strongest half-year performance in its history, covering the 28 weeks to 12 April 2026. Adjusted EBITDA rose by £17 million to £201 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 3.7 percentage points to 24.8%.

The company also reported record bookings during the FIFA World Cup, with 12.5 million drinks sold across the tournament.

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.”

Investor appetite for pub assets has been supported by this trading momentum and by a more supportive policy backdrop. The government has announced a 20% reduction in business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues.