A prominent UK cocktail bar chain has begun shutting down venues, starting with a flagship site in Bristol this Saturday. The move comes as its parent company, the massive Stonegate Group, considers selling off more than 1,000 of its pubs nationwide.
Bristol's Be At One Bids Farewell After a 'Wild Ride'
The Bristol branch of the popular Be At One cocktail bar will serve its final drinks on Saturday, December 20th, marking the end of a 12-year tenure in the city. The venue announced its closure in an emotional email to customers, thanking them for the memories made over more than a decade of business.
The message reflected on the "wild ride" and expressed gratitude for "every cocktail shaken, every party thrown and every memory made." The site is not disappearing entirely but will be transitioning to a Stonegate Pub Partners venue, with plans to reopen under new management in the new year.
Stonegate's Major Restructuring: Over 1,000 Pubs at Risk
This local closure is part of a much larger strategic shift for Stonegate Group, which also owns the Slug & Lettuce chain. The company is actively exploring options for a portfolio of around 1,034 of its 'platinum' leased and tenanted pubs.
With a total estate of 4,300 venues, this potential sale represents almost a quarter of Stonegate's sites. The collective value of these pubs could be as high as £1 billion, according to reports. This review is a key part of CEO David McDowall's "transformation plan," initiated last year to return the heavily indebted group to profitability.
Financial Pressure Behind the Strategic Review
The scale of the potential sell-off is driven by significant financial pressures. Stonegate Group reported a turnover of more than £1.7 billion last year, but it is also carrying debts exceeding £3 billion. The company has assured stakeholders that no final decisions have been made regarding the platinum portfolio.
A Stonegate spokesperson stated: "We are looking at options... which could include a refinancing, partial sale, or full sale of the Platinum sites... We are continuing to make good progress on our transformation strategy." The group continues to operate other Be At One and Slug & Lettuce bars in cities like Birmingham.
The closure in Bristol signals the start of a period of significant change for one of the UK's largest pub operators, with the future of hundreds of community pubs now hanging in the balance.
