Stonegate FY revenues rise 1.63% to £1.74bn

Stonegate has revealed that total revenues rose by 1.63% to £1.74bn in the year ended 29 September 2024, as a majority of the group’s businesses delivered growth. 

It comes as sales during the year were “favourable” compared with the previous period, with the group saying that it has delivered “a highly respectable performance”. 

Of the £1.74bn, the leased and tenanted pubs together saw a sales rise of 3% to £440m and the operator-led segment saw a rise of 18.5% to £333m. 

Meanwhile, the managed segment contributed £974m, spelling a fall 3.6% from the £1bn recorded in 2023. 

The group also saw an uplift of 14.6% in its pre-exceptional operating profit, from £293m to £336m, as Stonegate operated exactly 4,370 sites at year end – down from 4,432 in the previous year. 

Due to the group’s disposal of 70 trading sites, five non licensed and two non-trading properties in the period, Stonegate benefited from net proceeds of £58m in the financial year. 

Post-exceptional operating profit jumped in the period by 266%, from £68m to £249m, while loss before tax narrowed from £257m to £214m. 

During the period, Stonegate spent £148m on expansions, conversions and maintenance – up £4m since the previous year. 

David McDowall, chief executive of Stonegate Group, said: “As a result of the continued progress on our strategic plan, we are well-positioned to maintain our trajectory of profitable growth in 2025, with improved trading in the second quarter to date notwithstanding continued headwinds including the unseasonably bad weather and on-going cost pressures. 

“We remain fully focussed on efficiencies and costs across our business, and we have clear initiatives in place to address these as part of our strategic priorities for 2025, complementing our now well-established estate transformation plan.”