THE company which owns pubs in South Cumbria is reportedly looking to sell 1,000 sites to pay down its debt pile.

Bloomberg has reported that Stonegate Pub Company is planning to offload around one fifth of its pubs for an estimated £800m.

Stonegate is the pub giant behind household names such as Be At One and Slug and Lettuce, which is reportedly looking to scale back operations following a £2.6 billion debt pile.

The news comes as a further blow to pub lovers who were already left dismayed with the closure of some Wetherspoons pubs across the country.

As reported by Bloomberg, Stonegate, which is owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, is now making moves to sell some of its pubs to pay down its debts.

The chain has 4,492 pubs, bars and nightclubs across the country.

These include some sites in South Cumbria according to the Stonegate Group website, including: The Tally Ho in Schneider Road, Barrow, The Wellington in Market Street, Dalton, The Royal Oak in Sparkbridge, Ulverston, The Station Inn in Oxenholme, The Horse & Rainbow in Highgate, Kendal, The George and Dragon in Kendal, The Queen’s Hotel in Windermere.

Stonegate is yet to reveal which pubs will face closure.

Ian Payne, Stonegate’s chairman, said in an interview: “The biggest concern is energy.

“We know what we’re going to pay in February and March. But we still don’t know what we’re going to pay beyond that.”

His concerns follow that of Wetherspoons bosses Tim Martin, who recently announced that it currently has 35 pubs up for sale across England and Scotland, having already sold ten of its sites. Chairman Tim Martin said that a decision was made to sell off the pubs due to rising food and energy costs and lack of staff.

The announcement comes as Revolution revealed it will be shutting some of its bars on Mondays and Tuesdays to help cut energy costs.

The bar chain has 90 venues across the UK, which typically trade from late morning through into the late evening.

Around 4,500 pubs in the UK are considering reducing trading hours over winter, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.