Chef & Brewer chain enjoys warm weather uplift

“We have made a good start to the new financial year and, while we expect the consumer environment to be more challenging, we are well positioned to move forward,” said Ian Dyson, chief executive of managed-pub operator Spirit.

Sales at pubs open more than a year were up 4.8 per cent in the eight weeks since August 20, helped by recent good weather, said Spirit, which owns over 800 pubs in Britain including the Chef & Brewer chain.

That was a slowdown from 5.2 per cent growth in its year to August 20 when it made pre-tax profits of £48m.

The company said Mr Dyson, who oversaw the demerger of Punch after joining from Marks & Spencer last year, will step down at the annual shareholders meeting on December 16 and be succeeded by his deputy, Mike Tye.

Spirit, whose brands also include Taylor Walker and Fayre & Square, said its margin rose 125 basis points to 11 per cent.

The company said it expects the consumer environment will be more challenging this year and it is continuing to see pressure on costs. Confidence among consumers improved in September for the first time since May, while inflation hit a three-year high, piling more pressure on consumers.

Punch demerged Spirit, its better-performing division, in August as part of a move to cut billions of pounds debt.

Punch, which owns over 5,000 tenanted pubs but is worth less than Spirit because of its debt, said full-year pre-tax profits fell a sixth to £76m.