Stonegate has reported a significant bump in profitability across its pub estate as a direct result of transitioning the majority of the 850-strong managed division to the Craft Union brand, or into leased and tenanted venues.
The hospitality giant streamlined the group’s operation, with plans currently in place to reduce the number of managed venues below 350, while restructuring the leased portfolio.
“The goal is to set the pub up to succeed in its local area and its local community and match it with the right operating model in which to do that,” CEO David McDowall told Propel. “We do that in a very data informed way.”
“It’s about the central oversight that goes into running a managed business versus an operator-led business versus a leased and tenanted business. It’s about the capital intensity. The strike rate in success is impressive, and we’ve grown profitability in more than 95 percent of the sites that we’ve transitioned.”
Speaking on plans for the company’s leased venues, McDowall added: “We’re working hard to mitigate in our leasehold estate the impact of everything that everyone else is fighting against – the impact of inflationary pressure, the impact of legislative pressures.”
“The whole project is about us trying to ensure that high street leasehold estate is viable.”
Originally published on Coinslot on April 6, 2026. Republished with permission.