Strong half year results reported by Young's Brewery
Young's Brewery has reported a strong half year of trading with revenue up 7.8% to £116.6m.
Profit before tax increased 26.2% to £18.8m and, once adjusted for exceptional items, was up 15.7% to £18.4m.
Growth was achieved in all division of the company: the managed estate, tenanted division (recently re-launched as the Ram Pub Company) and the hotels portfolio.
Net debt increased to £116.6m owing to investment in both the existing estate and new acquisitions, including two pubs (Fox & Anchor in Smithfield Market and White Bear in Kennington) and two development sites. A further four pubs have been acquired since the end of the half-year period on 29 September.
Stephen Goodyear, chief executive of Young's, said he was delighted to reported "impressive sales" in the managed estate and a return to growth in the tenanted divison.
"Our many pubs in riverside locations and with attractive beer gardens have clearly benefited from the long, warm summer. Fundamentally however, our continued like-for-like growth comes from having high quality, well-invested pubs and hotels in a range of great locations, with a premium food and drink offering delivered by talented and motivated teams across both Young's and Geronimo.
"After the extended summer, trading has continued very positively into the autumn, and further impetus in the current year will come from the newly acquired pubs as well as from the re-opening of some of those currently undergoing redevelopment."
The new acquisitions bring the total number of pubs owned by Young's up to 245 managed and tenanted properties.
Goodyear added: "We note the House of Commons vote earlier this week which seeks to alter the relationships some pub companies have with their tenants, in particular giving them the right to operate outside of the tie. With 245 pubs, we are well below the 500 pub level at which the intended legislation is targeted. Our tenanted operation delivered just 5.5% of the group's revenue in the half year."
