Christmas comes early for Young’s as party bookings surge
One of the UK’s biggest pub groups has seen a surge in festive parties as the London-listed firm reported rising sales.
Young’s, which operates nearly 300 pubs across London and the south of England, reported a 22 per cent rise in Christmas bookings compared to last year.
“Christmas seems to be getting bigger every year,” Young’s chief executive Simon Dodd told Morning Wire.
“People are starting to celebrate earlier. We actually have our first Christmas party this week and our first Christmas booking was two days ago…it does feel a bit early, but if you want to celebrate in a pub, I’m happy.”
“Christmas is definitely coming earlier. Customers want to come out and celebrate with their friends and family…the period has become really important to us.”
Jubel and Hawkstone lager lead the way
Young’s reported total revenue of £263.6m for the six months to end September, a rise of 5.4 per cent compared to last year, while pre-tax profit soared 20.9 per cent to £30.6m.
Dodd said sales of premium lagers like Jubel and Hawstone, which is now available in 40 of its pubs, help fuel a rise in drinks sales alongside a 27 per cent jump in demand for cocktails, with customers “prepared to spend that little bit more on that premium drink.” Drinks account for around 70 per cent of the company’s total turnover.
The firm reduced its net debt by 11 per cent to £308.5m over the period, while increasing its interim dividend by 6 per cent to 12.22p.
Young’s shares rose 0.8 per cent to 792p on Thursday morning. The stock is down by around 8 per cent since the start of the year.
Last year Young’s acquired London-listed City Pub Group in a £162m deal, adding 51 wet-led pubs to its portfolio.
But the company said it still had an appetite for further expansion.
“We will probably start looking again this time next year,” Dodd said.
“We’ve still got a lot to do with the 50 pubs we acquired…we do have ambitions to grow and we would like to get to around 350 pubs when the time is right.”
Hospitality braces for tax hikes
Young’s results come as hospitality leaders brace for a raft of further tax hikes at the forthcoming Budget, with warnings that pubs and restaurant groups were still struggling to absorb the costs of minimum wage and national insurance hikes introduced in April.
On Wednesday, Simon Emeny, executive chair of Fuller’s, said the government needed “new ideas, new thinking” if it is to live up to its ambition to grow the economy.
“I hope the Chancellor has heeded the arguments and proposals articulated by the hospitality sector to avoid further punitive financial measures but, more so, I am frustrated by the lack of a clear plan to deliver the growth the Chancellor claims to be seeking,” Emeny said.
Rising taxes and hikes to minimum wages have helped fuel a surge in hospitality insolvencies, with pub closures in Britain at a record high in 2025, as Morning Wire revealed earlier this month.
The number of British pubs and bar businesses appointing liquidators or administrators surged to 449 in the first 10 months of the year, the most in more than two decades, according to figures compiled using insolvency disclosures.
“The one thing I would ask from the government is just certainty,” Dodd said, adding that business rate reform was a top industry priority.
“We have lacked certainty for a long period of time. If you look at our sector it can be a sector for growth.”