Marston's profits soar with pub group's festive bookings already ahead of last year
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Marston's is preparing for a bumper festive season, with Christmas bookings already ahead of 2023, as the pub group caps a year of solid profit growth. The group posted adjusted pre-tax profits from continuing operations of £42.1million for the year ending 28 September, up 64.5 per cent year-on-year and surpassing Peel Hunt forecasts of £40.5million.
Marston's, which runs over 1,300 UK pubs, said revenues increased by 3 per cent to £898.6million, with like-for-like sales rising by a market-beating 4.8 per cent thanks to higher food and drink orders. Marston's has benefited from a shift in spending to suburban and rural areas caused by more Britons working from home or moving out of city centres.
It has also been less impacted than rivals like Fuller's by industrial action on the railways and minimised inflationary pressures by hedging gas and electricity costs. Despite heavy snow and storms in recent weeks, the firm has continued to enjoy healthy trading, with like-for-like sales up 2.1 per cent in the first eight weeks of this financial year.
Trend: Marston's has benefited from a shift in spending to suburban and rural areas caused by more Britons working from home or moving out of city centres. Marston's noted its Christmas bookings were 'tracking ahead' of the previous year, boosted by high reservation rates at many venues, which it said 'positions us well for a successful trading period during December'.
