Be At One boss steps down six months after takeover

Stonegate Pub Company has announced that Be At One managing director Andrew Stones will leave the business at the end of April 2019.

Stones, who has been at the company for more than eight years, will not be directly replaced, with Sarah Miller, currently operations director at Novus Leisure expanding her role to encompass the bar brand. Miller will report to Helen Charlesworth, managing director of branded bars and venues for Stonegate.

Simon Longbottom, CEO of Stonegate, said: "Andrew Stones has done an excellent job leading Be At One. He has been a great support over the last six months since we acquired the business and I totally respect his decision to pursue alternative career options.

"We are delighted that Sarah Miller will head up Be At One as operations director. Sarah is an experienced leader who we have come to know and admire over recent months following our successful acquisition of 15 sites from her current company, Novus Leisure. I know that Sarah will do an outstanding job in her new role and I look forward to working with her in due course."

Stonegate acquired Be At One for a reported £50m in July 2018. The company, which operates nearly 700 pubs and bars across the UK including brands such as Slug and Lettuce, Walkabout, Yates and Classic Inns, took the bar's 33-strong portfolio.

The staffing change coincides with the integration of some head office departments into the Stonegate operating model. But Stonegate said that Be At One will continue to be operated as a standalone format.

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