Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTMatt OliverSun, June 7, 2026 at 8:30 PM GMT+2 3 min readMr Hands’s Terra Firma has been involved in some of the most controversial deals of the century - JULIAN SIMMONDSThe private equity firm founded by investor Guy Hands is among prospective bidders for hundreds of venues being sold by Britain’s biggest pub chain.Terra Firma Capital Partners, which Mr Hands founded in 2002, is said to be plotting a £300m offer for some 300 freehold pubs that have been put up for sale by Stonegate.It is one of a number of potential private equity buyers interested in the so-called “platinum” estate, according to Sky News.Stonegate, which controls more than 4,000 venues including Slug & Lettuce, Walkabout, Proper Pubs and Craft Union, is labouring under heavy debts built up through years of acquisitions and rising interest rates.The company is now attempting to sell off some of its estate while converting others to leased, tenanted or operator-led sites to ease pressure on its balance sheet.On Sunday, a spokesman for Terra Firma and Mr Hands declined to comment.Mr Hands stepped down from the firm in 2023 but remains its cornerstone investor, with his son Richard serving as managing director.The pubs that Terra Firma and others have expressed an interest in ranked among some of the company’s best in terms of performance, Sky News reported.Stonegate controls more than 4,000 venues across the country, including Slug & Lettuce - Paul GroverStonegate, which is owned by Asda’s parent, TDR Capital, is battling to pay off a £3.8bn debt pile as the wider pub sector struggles with rising costs under Labour.The Telegraph launched a campaign earlier this year to protect Britain’s pubs from soaring business rates bills.Stonegate has previously blamed the impact of Rachel Reeves’s National Insurance raid and increases in the minimum wage for weighing on its performance.The chain has said it could sell 1,000 freehold pubs overall and is using the initial auction of 300 to gauge interest.As part of the sales process, Stonegate is working with property-focused bank Eastdil.Terra Firma’s involvement is likely to raise eyebrows, however.The private equity investor, one of the best-known in Britain, has been involved in some of the most controversial deals of the century, including ill-fated takeovers of record label EMI and care homes operator Four Seasons.More recently, Mr Hands’s firm became locked in a dispute with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over its stewardship of Annington Homes, which owned the accommodation used by personnel in Britain’s Armed Forces.Some 55,000 homes were sold to Annington for £1.7bn and then leased back by the Ministry of Defence under a 1996 deal struck under John Major’s government.But the deal – branded “rotten” by MPs – became dogged by controversy after the National Audit Office concluded the estate had been sold too cheaply and the MoD had been left saddled with huge costs for rent and maintenance.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info