Brakspear, the brewer and pub operator based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, has reported an increase in both turnover and pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 December 2001.
Turnover was £19.8m, compared with £16.2m in 2000, and pre-tax profit was up to £4.5m from £4m in 2000.
The company has 96 tenanted or leased pubs and five managed pubs between London and Oxford. Nearly 20 include accommodation. During the year Brakspear spent £1.7m on refurbishing its pubs, providing en suite bedrooms at the Fox & Hounds in Christmas Common, adding rooms to the Perch & Pike in South Stoke, and upgrading bedrooms at the White Hart in Nettlebed.
It sold two pubs and bought three: the Swan in Bicester, the Blackwood Arms in Littleworth Common, and the Surprise in Clerkenwell, London.
Managing director Jim Borrows said: "If we realise our ambitions, nearly one-third of our pub estate will provide bed and breakfast accommodation."
Brakspear was established in 1779. In the early 1960s Whitbread bought a 30% stake in Brakspear to stave off an unwelcome takeover. Since 1991, when the Beer Orders came in, Whitbread's stake has been bought back. Today, the Ofex-listed company has about 400 shareholders, with 36% of equity owned by the Brakspear family.