Spirit's managed pubs grow but income from leased pubs dips
Spirit Pub Company saw sales in its managed pubs improve in the 12 weeks to 26 May, but net income from its leased estate dipped as a result of strong comparatives in April last year, when pub-goers enjoyed good weather and an additional bank holiday.
Like-for-like sales at the company's managed houses were up 3.7% for the period. Food sales accounted for the lion's share of that growth, at 6.8% up on the same period in the previous year, while drink sales were up 1.1%.
Spirit invested in a further 21 of its pubs during the period, taking the total number to have seen investment for the financial year as a whole to 177. The company said it had now completed investment in its Taylor Walker and Chef & Brewer brands and was planning to complete the refurbishment of its Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill brands, as well as completing investment in its John Barras and Original Pub Company brands next financial year. There will be little investment activity in the final quarter of this year, Spirit said, as it attempts to maximise the profitability of its pubs.
Meanwhile, the company's leased division had a tougher time, with like-for-like net income down by 8% during the period. Spirit said its new management team was making progress on the estate, and had boosted the proportion of pubs on substantive agreements from 3% to 87%. It said it had also "significantly reduced" discounts and concessions to its licensees.
The company has identified 100 underperforming pubs that it intends to divest, of which it has already sold 27. It has also converted 10 leased pubs to its managed brands.
Chief executive Mike Tye said: "We have delivered another quarter of good growth against a very strong trading period last year. Continued innovation and investment in our managed estate, people and brands has enabled us once again to significantly outperform the market. Our focus is now on maximising sales in our managed pubs during what promises to be a busy summer and stabilising performance in our leased estate."
By Neil Gerrard
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