• Stonegate managed pubs saw a 9.7% uplift in like for like sales on 2023, with bars and venues seeing a 4.1% increase.
  • Craft Union delivered a record breaking Christmas week, with sales over £8m for the first time.
  • 234 sites across its managed estate reported record breaking sales weeks
  • Over one million pre-booked guests welcomed over the festive period across Stonegate’s managed estate, highest in the Group’s history

22 January 2025: Stonegate Group, the UK’s leading pub company, has today released an update on its trading over the recent festive period.

Stonegate’s managed pubs saw an 9.7% uplift in like for like (LFL) sales on 2023, with bars and venues seeing a 4.1% increase LFL over the same period. Stonegate’s Craft Union business saw record sales numbers over Christmas week. The Group also saw strong momentum in its’ Pub Partners business, which continued to deliver year on year profit growth.

Across its managed estate, 234 sites reported record breaking sales weeks over the festive period, with 217 sites reporting record breaking sales days. The Managed business welcomed over one million pre-booked guests – the highest number in the Group’s history.

David McDowall, Chief Executive, said:

“Performance across the Group was encouraging over the festive period, with particularly strong sales in our Managed pub estate. It was also pleasing to see the momentum in our Bar and Venues estate over the period. Craft Union pubs trade particularly well when guests go out more locally, and we saw this play out during the season. Our Pub Partners business continued its’ very solid trading momentum, once again growing profit over the period.

None of this is possible without the hard work and commitment of colleagues across the Group, and, above all, I would like to thank the whole Stonegate team for their efforts. Whilst we are encouraged by our performance over the festive period, we are very aware that Christmas only comes once a year and that the hospitality sector continues to face headwinds on multiple fronts, and that the economic climate remains challenging. We are, however, well positioned to maintain our positive trajectory moving into 2025. Our fantastic team have achieved a lot, but we have plenty of progress still left to deliver.”