Sales put pub group in right Spirit

Spirit, which manages more than 800 pubs in Britain, saw sales at pubs open more than a year rise 4.8 per cent in the year to August 18 and said the trend had continued into the first four weeks of the new financial year.

“Looking ahead, we expect the consumer environment to remain tough but stable. While general cost pressures are easing slightly the tax burden on our input costs continues to be a headwind,” said the company.

It said it hoped to strengthen its brands to offset the impact of increases in beer duty, wages and rising raw material and energy costs.

Spirit, whose brands include Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill, reported pre-tax profit up 16 per cent to £51.1m, compared with a forecast for £51.8m in a poll of analysts.

It proposed a full-year dividend of 1.95p per share.

Spirit demerged from Punch Taverns in 2011 and has since outperformed the leased-pub group, which reported a fall in profit last year.

Managed pubs, which are run directly by the company, have fared better than tenanted pubs against a tough economic backdrop as they generally have greater leeway on pricing and promotional activity, whereas tenanted pubs are run by publicans who pay the company rent and rely on it for their beer supplies.