The accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 included a material uncertainty relating to going concern, with the group citing short term liquidity pressures, refinancing requirements and outstanding matters with senior lender Metro Bank.
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Chestnut has completed a major balance sheet restructuring, converting £13m of loan note debt into equity and raising more than £4m of additional equity as it moves to strengthen its financial position and capitalise on the ongoing opportunities within the region.
Balance sheet overhaul
Turner said Chestnut had since undertaken significant balance sheet reorganisation, including the conversion of loan note capital into equity and an additional equity raise of more than £4m.
He said: “Everything we talked about, referenced in those accounts, has either been actually completed or is about to be completed.”
Turner added that the Group was addressing all outstanding issues with Metro Bank.
The restructuring comes after a period of rapid growth for the pub group, which made a number of acquisitions across 2024 and 2025, and won Best Accommodation Operator at the Publican Awards 2026.
Turner said some newly acquired sites had taken longer than expected to reach the performance levels of the mature estate, but trading had improved significantly during 2026.
He said like for like sales were positive, while occupancy, revenue per available room and average daily rate were all up, with the group’s rooms business performing particularly strongly.
“The business itself, the operating business in 2026, has had a much more profitable run than we did in 2025 – providing the platform for the next phase of growth.”
The group’s focus on bedrooms builds on a strategy Turner outlined earlier this year, when he said accommodation provided greater stability through both room revenue and “guaranteed resident covers” for the wider food and drink business.
Focus shifts to existing estate
The group has also taken a more active approach to estate management. Chestnut completed the sale of a house attached to one of its sites last week and is reviewing a small number of other assets to assess whether they remain a natural fit with its increasingly bedroom led operating model.
Turner said the group was unlikely to make further acquisitions in 2026, with the focus instead on investing in its existing estate.
Current projects include refurbishment work at the Ancient Mariner and Lestrange Arms in north Norfolk, alongside plans to add further bedrooms across the portfolio.
He said future capital expenditure would be funded from within the business rather than through further debt or equity raises.
“The balance sheet is much more robust, less leverage in it. We’ve sourced additional equity to ensure we’ve got the capital to invest in our existing portfolio as well as increase our working capital buffer.”
Chestnut is also seeing encouraging momentum into the festive period, with Turner saying December bookings were “significantly ahead” of the same point last year.
He said the group had centralised its groups and events enquiry process using new technology, helping it capture and convert more bookings, while Christmas Day and wider December bookings were also running ahead year on year.
The group is also continuing to focus on operational efficiencies, including the use of technology across reporting, reviews, kitchen management and labour control.
Turner said there were “no big wins” available to operators in the current market, with performance instead dependent on finding incremental improvements across multiple areas of the business.
