Exclusive: Stonegate nears end of M&B debranding

Stonegate Pub Company, the firm that runs 333 wet-led pubs owned by TDR Capital and chaired by Ian Payne, is close to finishing the debranding of 78 sites trading formerly as Mitchells & Butlers brands.

The company had a deadline of the end of last month to debrand the sites.

Stonegate has already finished the debranding of 60 Ember Inns and Sizzling Pub Company sites, which are trading under their original pub names.

The company has also converted nine of the 10 O'Neill's that it bought to Molloy's and converted the last site to an unbranded pub called the Melbourne.

Repositioning​

Work on the debranding of a last tranche of 16 sites, which includes six Vintage Inns, a smattering of Crown Carveries and Harvester and Toby venues, is underway now, with, again, all pubs becoming unbranded.

Stonegate is also hoping to re-position the Scream student brand with two trial sites due to open — one in Edgbaston, West Midlands, and one in Leicester.

The firm is still working on plans to evolve the 1970s-themed Flares and 1980s-themed Reflex brands. But it is likely the brands' tagline will be "Songs you can sing" based on a move to a broader range of sing-along and cheesy dance favourites from across the decades.

Work in progress​

"That's still a work in progress," said chairman Payne. "Overall, the message is that we're making very good progress. January has been a good month — with cash-take levels good."

The company's head office in Birmingham is now fully-staffed.

Pub managers at Stonegate attended a conference this week at Alton Towers to hear Payne outline plans for the company — and progress made so far.