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Stonegate faces scrutiny from UK regulator over alleged tenant mistreatment
The Pubs Code Adjudicator is investigating Stonegate over complaints tied to its treatment of tenants operating more than 3,000 venues.
Stonegate Pub Partners, the UK’s largest pub company, is facing scrutiny after complaints from pub tenants alleging mistreatment, according to the Guardian Business. The Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) named Stonegate as the subject of an investigation over allegations involving how the company treated tenants who run more than 3,000 of its venues. Stonegate also owns chains including Slug & Lettuce, Be At One, and Walkabout. A tenant, Melissa Phillips, said her father, known locally as Phil, managed a venue in Basingstoke that was renamed Laarsen’s and promoted as a success story by Stonegate for trainee publicans. Phillips described how her father’s Alzheimer’s affected his ability to oversee the business, and she said Stonegate knew of his condition from 2022 but the process to allow him to exit the tenancy did not conclude until 2024, leaving him under additional financial strain.
As part of the exit agreement, Stonegate agreed to fund some repairs but said Phillips’s father owed £89,500 in “dilapidations,” plus trade debt and rent, tied to building damage and other charges. Phillips said the process caused serious harm, adding that much of the debt accumulated while Stonegate knew he could no longer make financial decisions.