Slug and Lettuce posts pre-tax loss of £3.1m

Slug and Lettuce has reported a pre-tax loss of £3.1m for the 12-month period to September 2023 after the bar chain initially recorded profits of £2.2m in 2022. 

Slug and Lettuce has attributed its performance to revenues inching down from £48.6m to £48.5m due to “the impact of the macroeconomic environment”.

According to the bar chain, it views its performance as “highly respectable” given the cost of living crisis that has affected discretionary spending.

According to the group’s latest filings on Companies House, Slug and Lettuce’s losses were exacerbated by growing debt pressures at parent company Stonegate, which it has yet to refinance.  

Under the ownership of private equity firm TDR Capital, Stonegate reported a loss of £257m last year after racking up more than £300m of finance costs. 

As a result, Slug and Lettuce has maintained its previously reported warning that a “material uncertainty” still remains.

Most recently, Stonegate has spent £2.5m on new screens and equipment across its pub estate in a bid to drive sales during the Euros. 

A spokesman for Stonegate said: “These numbers relate to the 12 months to September 2023 – a time when inflation and the cost of living pressures were particularly acute, so bear little relevance to the performance of S&L today. Since then, trading has improved considerably.

“We fully expect to complete our re-financing needs on the back of this strong performance in due course.”