Marston’s records 4.8 per cent rise in like-for-like sales over past year

Marston’s has recorded a surge in its pub sales over the last year, while also trimming its debt pile by about £300m after selling off its remaining stake in its historic brewing business.

The London-listed company saw a 4.8 per cent rise in like-for-like sales over the past year, amid strong growth across both its food and drink divisions.

The group, which operates 1,339 pubs across the UK, said sales growth eased during the most recent three months to September 28, amid unusually wet weather during the quarter.

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Like-for-like sales grew 3.8 per cent for the most recent 12 weeks as punters continued to drink and dine at its venues despite pressures on consumer budgets.

Marston’s has enjoyed a surge in its pub sales over the last year, while also trimming its debt pile by about £300m after selling off its remaining stake in its historic brewing business. (Photo by Nicholas.T.Ansell/PA Wire)Marston’s has enjoyed a surge in its pub sales over the last year, while also trimming its debt pile by about £300m after selling off its remaining stake in its historic brewing business. (Photo by Nicholas.T.Ansell/PA Wire)
Marston’s has enjoyed a surge in its pub sales over the last year, while also trimming its debt pile by about £300m after selling off its remaining stake in its historic brewing business. (Photo by Nicholas.T.Ansell/PA Wire)

Analysts had predicted Marston’s would report like-for-like growth of 5 per cent for the year to September.

Net debt has fallen to about £885m, Marston’s said, down £300m compared with the same point last year, amid a number of disposals across the business.

The trading update comes during a period of transition for the business, as it fully focuses on pub operations after exiting brewing operations.

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In 2020, Marston’s agreed to sell part of its brewing business – which makes Hobgoblin and Shipyard – to Carlsberg and form a joint venture with the Danish brewer.

In July this year, it sold its remaining stake in the cask ale brewer, the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC), for around £206m.

Marston’s said offloading the spin-off will allow it to focus purely on operating its pub chain and will reduce the amount of debt it holds.

On top of this, the company has sold off a swathe of pubs over the last year amid a bid to improve its portfolio.

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These include the disposal of 18 pubs to private equity rival Admiral Taverns, and 19 pubs to Red Oak Taverns in a deal in May.

Marston’s said the combination of its sales growth, its pub disposals strategy, the sale of its share in CMBC and a dividend payout for CMBC in the first half of this year helped it slash its debt pile.

Chief executive Justin Platt said: “The strong revenue performance is very pleasing. This reflects the quality of the experiences we are providing for our guests as well as the continued focus and passion of our team.

“This performance, combined with our recent disposal of CMBC, puts Marston’s in a strong position to drive value for our shareholders as a focused pub business.”

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Last week, pub firm JD Wetherspoon revealed that pre-tax profits jumped by 73.5 per cent to £73.9m for the year to July 28, compared with the previous year.

This represented a further recovery in profit for the pub firm but remained below pre-pandemic levels.

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