Fuller’s looks to end of restrictions to drown sorrows after £60m loss
Pub chain Fuller, Smith & Turner swung to a £60m loss across a 12 months in which its estate was shut for nearly three-quarters of the year due to the pandemic.
The group reported a £59.2m loss for the last financial year, down from a profit of £166.2m the year before.
It said that its pubs had been shut for 71 per cent of the last year in total, hailing the “resilience” of its performance in the circumstances.
With multiple lockdowns and the introduction of a range of social distancing restrictions, many pubs have struggled to remain in business over the last year.
But after 16 months of on-off restrictions, pubs will see all remaining social distancing limits lifted in 11 days time.
Fuller’s said it was confident that it would rebound strongly once restrictions are lifted, given the high demand it had seen when it was able to open its pubs.
Over the three months leading to 3 July, the chain said that it was trading at 76 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
The firm said that it would continue to invest in its estate over the coming year, having refurbished 10 of its pubs during lockdown.
Chief Executive Simon Emeny said: “The end of restrictions is now just 11 days away and our pubs and hotels are perfectly placed to benefit from growing consumer confidence and the return of normal life.
“Pubs are social spaces that thrive on spontaneity – a quick pint, staying for a bit longer to chat to someone at the bar or just walking past a beautiful pub garden and deciding to stop for a bite to eat without pre-booking a table. I know that, across our estate, our teams are excited to see those behaviours return.”