Stonegate Pub Investigation Launched Over Repairs and Rents

Britain’s largest pub company is facing a formal regulatory investigation into information given to tied tenants, including the condition of pub buildings, proposed repair work and the financial projections used when setting rents.

The Pubs Code Adjudicator has launched a formal investigation into Stonegate Group over suspected breaches of rules intended to protect tied pub tenants.

The inquiry, announced on 15 July 2026, will examine Stonegate’s conduct during the five years from 15 July 2021 to 14 July 2026. The regulator stressed that it has not yet decided whether the company broke the Pubs Code.

Stonegate is Britain’s largest pub company, with more than 4,500 managed, leased and tenanted sites. Its portfolio includes familiar brands such as Slug & Lettuce, Be At One, Walkabout and Popworld, alongside thousands of traditional pubs.

The investigation concerns Stonegate’s relationship with existing and prospective tied tenants across an estate of more than 3,000 leased and tenanted pubs in England and Wales. Tied tenants are required to buy some or all of their alcohol from the company that owns their pub.

What Will the Stonegate Pub Investigation Examine?

The regulator said it has reasonable grounds to suspect that Stonegate may have failed to provide clear and accurate information about the condition of pub premises.

Investigators will consider whether prospective tenants received complete schedules describing repairs or maintenance problems before signing agreements. They will also examine claims that promised works were omitted from formal documents, left unfinished or provided without completion dates.

The inquiry will separately assess whether Stonegate supplied prospective publicans with unreasonable or unrealistic financial projections when proposing rents and reviewing business plans.

Other issues include whether tenants’ reasonable requests for information were properly answered, whether Stonegate’s business development managers dealt fairly with publicans and whether records of meetings were maintained as required. The PCA will also examine the accuracy of information Stonegate submitted through its annual regulatory compliance reports.

The investigation follows several years of poor results for Stonegate in the regulator’s annual tenant survey. In the 2026 survey, 39% of Stonegate’s tied tenants said they were satisfied with their relationship with the company, compared with 56% across all six regulated pub businesses.

Stonegate’s score was the lowest of the six companies and 33 percentage points below the 72% recorded by the highest-rated operator, Admiral Taverns. The regulator said concerns about repairs to pub premises were particularly prominent.

What Does It Mean for London Pubs?

For London customers, the investigation does not mean that every Stonegate-owned bar or pub is individually under investigation. The inquiry focuses on the company’s treatment of tied tenants rather than customer service at managed venues.

No closures, licence suspensions or changes to opening hours have been ordered as part of the announcement. However, the findings could be significant for independent publicans operating Stonegate-owned pubs in London and elsewhere, particularly where disputes involve building conditions, rent calculations or promised investment.

Stonegate said the investigation arose from evidence connected to two individual complaints. A company spokesperson said it was “fully committed to complying with the code and ensuring all publicans are treated fairly”, adding that Stonegate would cooperate with the inquiry.

The PCA is seeking evidence from current and former Stonegate tenants, as well as other parties holding relevant information. Submissions must be received by 5pm on 12 August 2026, and contributors will not be identified in the final investigation report without their consent.

The investigation is only the second formal statutory inquiry launched by the regulator since the Pubs Code was introduced in 2016. Its next steps will depend on the evidence collected and whether investigators conclude that Stonegate failed to meet its legal obligations.