Yates’s Wine Lodge owner Stonegate swallows The Living Room

LEISURE operator Stonegate Pub Company has acquired the Living Room brand, including its original Manchester site, from Premium Bars and Restaurants.

Luton-based Stonegate, which already owns the Yates’ Wine Lodge and Slug & Lettuce chain, has bought 13 sites including Liverpool and Leeds.

The Living Room was founded by Cheshire-based Living Ventures, led by entrepreneurs Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts, and its first site opened on Deansgate in 1999.

For several years it was a hugely popular venue and the brand was quickly expanded to 13 sites. Living Ventures sold it for £28m to listed group Ultimate Leisure, which later became Premium Bars and Restaurants.

Toby Smith, chief executive of Stonegate, which has more than 570 pubs, bars and restaurants, said: “We are delighted to have acquired The Living Room business and are looking forward to working with the current team to operate what are undoubtedly some of the finest sites in the UK.”