Pubs rake in profit for Scottish & Newcastle
01 January 2000
The extent of Scottish & Newcastle's switch from brewing and leisure park operating to pub retailing became clear with this week's interim results announcement.
Pubs, thanks to the acquisition of the Chef & Brewer estate, now account for 44% of the group's operating profits. Two-thirds of the 2,957 pubs are now managed and food sales in these outlets represent 15% of turnover and are rising.
In the leisure division, Center Parcs performed well with the new Longleat Parc reporting occupancy above 90%. But Pontin's experienced a difficult time, particularly in the early summer.
The group results for the six months to 30 October showed pre-tax profits up 28% to £145.1m and turnover up 30% to £1.01b.
