Young’s boss calls for ‘stability and certainty’ amid resilient performance

Investment in the business is clearly paying off for Young’s, as the pub group announced it has surpassed half a billion in revenue for the first time in its latest set of full-year financial results.

But despite the milestone, chief executive Simon Dodd warned that hospitality operators still need “stability and certainty” from government to help plan for the future.

Speaking to The Caterer this morning, Dodd said Young’s has weathered the cost of living storm better than many rivals, thanks to continued investment, innovation and its premium positioning.

“It’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. “But we’re 195 years old, we’ve been around a long time and we have a very clear, long-term strategy, which is always around being premium, individual and differentiated.”

He added: “We invest in our pubs and don’t cut back – we’ll invest £40m this year, of which half will be in maintaining the pubs and the other half will be expansion. We invest a lot in our people and we continue to evolve the offer. It’s a combination of those two things that enable us to drive the top line and converts to the bottom line.”

While acknowledging Young’s benefits from a strong balance sheet and affluent trading locations in London and the south of England, Dodd said the sector still needed greater certainty from government.

“We just need stability and certainty, however that comes. It would be nice for us to be able to plan. If we had certainty on all areas, that would be a positive. If there were three asks of the government, they would be proper business rate reform so it’s even and fair, lowering VAT to European levels to stimulate the sector and freezing duty – those things would really help the whole sector.”

Young’s has spent a lot of energy investing in its pubs’ food and drink offer, including its summer spritz menus and an increased focus on emerging categories such as tequila and apéritifs, which offers guests longer, lighter serves. This campaign alone added £8.8m in sales.

Dodd also pointed to an improved beer range, such as Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone and Modelo, as well as Jubel Peach, which sold 1.5 million pints last year alone.

“A few years ago, beer was quite boring and now it’s so exciting,” he said. “You’re seeing premium products and categories growing and when consumers come out, they’re prepared to pay a little bit more for that premium product.”

Young’s has doubled-down on premium pub classics, with dishes such as fish and chips and burgers continuing to drive growth at 5.7% and 9% respectively, and its fish is sourced fresh from Brixham day boats, offering flexibility and choice.

“We can be really flexible [with food]. It’s how we hold our inflation, which on food is running at just under 2%, meaning we don’t have to pass anything dramatic onto the customer,” explained Dodd.

He added: “You have to make sure your customer and that value for money equation is delivered, so when customers leave, they leave happy and wanting to come back.”

Dodd is particularly confident as he looks ahead towards the World Cup, the Autumn Internationals and Christmas trading, which saw an 11.2% increase year-on-year.

“From a Young’s perspective, what we can control we’re really confident about and what happens externally we’ll navigate through, like we always do.”