Pub giant Greene King lifts a glass to record profits
Pub and brewing giant Greene King yesterday reported record annual sales and profit.
The company said its revenues were up 6.9 per cent to £1.3bn and its pre-tax profit was up 7.4 per cent to £158.2m.
The group added 48 new sites during the year as part of a five-year plan to increase its estate to 1,100.
Following the acquisitions, profit for the retail business grew 12 per cent compared to the prior year.
Greene King boss Rooney Anand said: “We see the pace of change in how people eat and drink out of home quickening and so we are shaping the business for the future to benefit from the opportunities these changes will bring.”
The company has during the financial year sold off 148 pubs and an additional 275 pubs after the year-end.
The sales were another part of the five-year plan to put more focus on the retail side of the business, and it led to revenue from the pub partners dropping 4.5 per cent compared to the previous year.
Greene King operates breweries in Bury St Edmunds and Dunbar, where it brews cask beer and premium ale, such as Old Speckled Hen and Belhaven Best.
It reported a 4.5 per cent increased revenue from brewing and its volume share of the UK ale market was reportedly up 70 basis points to 11.3 per cent.
Shares in FTSE 250-quoted Greene King fell 3.6 per cent yesterday to close at 816.5p.