Fuller’s CEO: ‘Our financial position is robust’

Fuller’s has reported a solid set of financial results for its full year ended 29 March 2025.

Revenue for the pub group increased 4.8% to £376.3m, driven by “an excellent performance across the estate”.

The business reported like-for-like sales growth across food (4.8%) and drink (5.3%), as well as accommodation (5.4%) from its 1,028 bedrooms.

This resulted in an adjusted profit before tax increase of 32% to £27m.

Over the course of the year, Fuller’s invested £28m into its existing estate, which consists of 185 managed pubs and hotels and 153 tenanted inns.

The investment went into transforming 14 sites, including the Drayton Court in Ealing and the Head of the River in Oxford, which is now a fully electric hotel.

It also completed the sale of 37 non-core tenanted pubs to Admiral Taverns for £18.3m, as well as completing the sale of the Mad Hatter for a total consideration of £20m.

Over the period Fuller’s also acquired Lovely Pubs for £22.5m which includes seven pubs in Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Chief executive Simon Emeny said: “It has been an excellent year for Fuller’s. We have continued to build on our existing momentum and have delivered strong like-for-like sales growth in our managed pubs and hotels of 5.2%.

“We have converted this strong revenue growth into improved profitability with adjusted profit before tax rising by 32% and even more pleasing is that these results, combined with our effective allocation of capital, have delivered impressive adjusted earnings per share growth of 40%.

“We have started the new financial year well with like-for-like sales in the first 10 weeks of the year rising by 4.2%. We have completed our investment at the Chamberlain in the City of London, one of our largest hotel sites, which reopened in May and we have a number of clear priorities for the year focused on our properties, our people and our customer proposition.

“Our estate is well invested, predominately freehold, and full of iconic gems in great locations. Our people are dedicated and engaged, and our customers are more resilient to economic turbulence than most. Our financial position is robust and we make sensible decisions for the long-term. I have no doubt that interesting times are ahead and I’m looking forward with confidence and excitement.”

Chairman Michael Turner, who is stepping down from his position after 18 years to enjoy retirement, added: “This strong performance has been achieved despite the business operating in a challenging and, at times, volatile economic environment. The geopolitical situation has caused uncertainty in global markets and the decisions made by the chancellor in her October budget hit the sector hard and reduced confidence in hospitality stocks. The changes to National Insurance Contributions took everyone by surprise and I fear it could be terminal for a number of smaller operators in our market.”

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