Exclusive – Stonegate Group places 20-strong investment portfolio on market: Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub company, has placed a 20-strong portfolio of investment sites on the market, with a combined asking price of just under £19m, Propel has learned. It is understood Stonegate has appointed Savills to market the freehold investment sites, which are spread across England, from Barnard Castle in the north east to Exeter in the south west, and have a combined guide price of £18,760,000. The pubs are understood to be occupied by a range of “good quality individual and small multiple operators in attractive buildings that are in good condition”. All of the properties are let on long leases with annual retail price index increases, average rents of £70,000 per annum and prices reflecting between 6.45% to 7.85% net initial yields. The pubs include Fox in Bognor Regis, West Sussex (which has a guide price of £1,480,000); the Dog & Partridge in Ascot, Berkshire (£1,000,000); the White Horse in Billericay, Essex (£1,380,000); Bedford Street in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire (£1,330,000); Angerstein Hotel in Greenwich, south east London (£1,330,000); and Planet Nollywood in London’s Camberwell (£1,160,000). The properties are considered for sale either individually or in small packages and the occupational businesses will be unaffected by any sale. Last month, TDR Capital, the backer of Stonegate Group, said that following the refinancing of the UK’s largest pub company and the resulting lower debt service burden, the David McDowall-led group will have close to £300m more to invest back into the business over the next three years. At the end of July, Stonegate announced the agreement of its debt refinancing requirements. The refinancing package, which follows the announcement in December 2023 of the financing of a portfolio of 1,034 pubs, will see Stonegate’s balance sheet structure “significantly simplified and strengthened”. As part of the deal, funds managed by TDR will make a circa £250m shareholder contribution, demonstrating its “continued support and confidence in the future of the business and the Great British pub”. 

Lane7 seeks to grow European portfolio by ‘some ten venues’ over the next two years: Boutique bowling company Lane7 has said it is now seeking to grow its European portfolio by “some ten venues over the next two years”, while also having a pipeline of nine new venues in the UK on track to open in 2025. The company will open its first venue in continental Europe at The Playce, Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, later this month as well as two venues opening in Dublin in the coming months. Lane7 currently operates 17 boutique bowling and entertainment venues in England and Scotland through its eponymous brand, boutique bowling and gaming venue – Gutterball, plus two Level X format venues aimed at families and the youth market. Propel previously revealed that Lane7 will open a second site in London, a 15,000 square-foot site in Camden Market, which is set to open next month. It is also lining up sites in Cambridge, Lincoln and Milton Keynes, and two in its home city of Newcastle, including a new concept for the business. Lane7 founder Tim Wilks said: “It's a very proud moment for us to be opening our first European bowling experiences in Berlin and Dublin – spreading the joy of the Lane7 experience beyond our well established and high performing UK portfolio. We have spent the past year preparing for this expansion phase of our business with our sights set firmly on Europe, where we can become a leader in the competitive socialising movement that we believe is still in its early phases. As an independent operator, we can move swiftly and with agility, from identifying the right central ‘landing zone’ locations to delivering our signature vibrant urban fit-out, and always with a unique twist that is authentic to each location. With a pipeline of nine new venues in the UK on track to open in 2025. Lane7 is all about providing ‘social entertainment’ with tailored attractions for different audiences and responding to the growing demand for experiential activities. In addition to bowling lanes, many of our venues – including Potsdamer Platz – allow us to offer customers electro-darts, crazy golf, beer pong and karaoke. It is this range of experiences that we are hoping to replicate across all our new venues as they roll out over the next few years.” Lane7 said it has become a “catalyst for re-energising town and city centre locations”, helping to reset the “balance between traditional retail, food and beverage, and leisure offers” in both high street and edge-of-town locations. A new report has been produced by Propel on the fast-growing experiential leisure sector. The report profiles the current shape of the experiential leisure market – including brands, estate size, trading type and geographical location and future trends. It provides a detailed list of UK experiential leisure companies including key staff and Companies House information. The report includes more than 180 companies, 3,500 sites and a 35,000-word report. The report was made available last week to Premium Club members. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Agatha Christie hotel owner abandons £15m sale: The owner of a historic hotel known for its association with Agatha Christie has abandoned plans for a £15m sale of the property. The Telegraph reported the grade II-listed Burgh Island hotel, which sits on a private island near Plymouth, was previously placed on the market by owner Giles Fuchs. However, Fuchs has scrapped plans to sell the 25-room property after a proposed buyer pulled out on the day of completion. Instead, Fuchs now plans to invest in the hotel after refinancing £5.4m worth of loans and securing additional funding from Metro Bank. He said: “It was on the market for a while, and we had lots and lots of interest. We had several offers, but no one who could prove their finance. A chap then popped up and made an offer that was acceptable, and showed us he had funds, and then we set off on the process of instructing lawyers to sell it. Unfortunately, the chap decided that on the day of exchange, he wasn’t going to buy it after all.” The new bank loans will be put towards refurbishing the hotel and improving its infrastructure, said Fuchs, including sea defences to prevent cliff erosion. Company accounts for Burgh Island Hotel reveal revenue was flat at £6.1m in 2023, while pre-tax profit fell from £851,670 to £519,930. Fuchs said this was because of spending £400,000 on a new sewage system.