Marston's to switch 600 pubs to new retail agreement

20 May 2010 by
Marston's to switch 600 pubs to new retail agreement

Marston's is to bring 600 of its leased and tenanted pubs into a new retail agreement that will see it invest £50,000 per pub.

The move follows a trial of the agreement at 63 pubs. The agreement sees the retailer retain a percentage of the revenue and take responsibility for the employment fo staff. All other cots are paid for by Marston's itself.

"It is our view that the pressures on tenanted pubs in particular will continue and that a different approach can provide both an effective response to market conditions and the opportunity for significantly increased profitability."

"The Retail Agreement allows us to have much greater control over the retail offer in a pub, and has led to improved pub standards, greater development on food offers, and increased investment in amenities (such as kitchen equipment, pub gardens and Sky)," said chief executive Ralph Findlay.

The company also plans to sell around 60 pubs from its leased and tenanted estate over the next 18 months.

The news came as Marston's unveiled a 0.6% rise in group revenue to £309.2m for the half year to 3 April. Pre-tax profit before exceptionals was also up by 0.4%to £27.8m. Profit before tax but after exceptionals was £21.8m - unchanged on the previous year.

Like-for-like sales at the company's managed division, Marston's Inns and Taverns, climbed 1.4% with operation margins up 0.5% thanks to risin food sales. Marston's said that its plans to build 15 new pubs this year were progessing well. Last year the firm rasied £165.6m to build 60 large new managed pub-restaurants.

Marston's has an estate of 2,200 pub overall in Egnland and Wales, comprising 1,688 tenanted or leased pubs and 496 managed pubs including Marston's Tavern Table, Two for One and Pitcher & Piano.

Food fuels 1.4% rise in like-for-like interim sales at Marston's >>

Big freeze puts the chill on Marston's sales >>

Marston's sees profits slide >>

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