Like-for-like sales rise for Marston's

The Wolverhampton-headquartered group said that both drink and food sales were strong in the 42 weeks to July 22.

For the 16 weeks to July 22 there was a rise of 10.9 per cent, reflecting the warmer weather in June, which enabled Maraston's to maximise the return on investment in our outdoor trading areas undertaken ahead of the summer months.

Total retail sales in the group’s managed and franchised pubs for the 42-week period were up 12 per cent on last year.

Marston's has trialled rolling out the franchise-style model in 13 of its food-led managed pubs to complement the 717 wet-led pubs currently operated under this model.

It was very pleased with the result of the trial, with sales growth exceeding the broader food business.

Marston's now expects to grow the number of food-led partnerships to more than 50 pubs in 2023-2024.

Reducing net debt to below £1 billion continues to be a key focus of the group’s financial strategy and progress on that is in line with expectations.

It is expected to reduce by £50m to £60m by the end of 2022-2023 and by the same level in 2023-2024.

The group will continue to invest in the future growth of the business and remains well-positioned to deliver positive trading from its community pubs.

Chief executive Andrew Andrea said Marston’s had delivered another strong trading performance, validating the strategy it was implementing and demonstrating the appeal of its pubs.

"We are making good progress and are beginning to see the benefits of the actions we have taken in the first half, simplifying our trading formats and repositioning our pub portfolio, as well as the investments we have made in our pub gardens and outside trading areas.

“In addition, we are encouraged by the success of the trial extending the partnership model into our food-led pubs," he said.

Mr Andrea added that Marston's pleased to lead the evolution of the partnership model and was excited about its future growth potential for the business.

“We remain focused on delivering on our debt reduction strategy and continue to make good progress in that regard. Whilst macro-economic challenges persist for the time being, we remain encouraged by the group’s trading resilience and that the pub remains an affordable treat for our guests.

"An improving cost outlook, together with the actions we are taking to maximise efficiencies, leaves Marston’s well-placed to navigate through ongoing economic headwinds," he stressed.