Oyster Shed: Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone helps pub chain Young’s to biggest day of takings in 200 years
One of the Square Mile’s best-known watering holes has marked the biggest single day of takings of any venue owned by pub chain Young’s since it was founded nearly 200 years ago, Morning Wire can reveal.
And the Oyster Shed had a helping hand from one of the best-known names in UK television: Jeremy Clarkson, the motormouth TV presenter turned farming evangelist, and sometime journalist.
The bright, breezy modern boozer sits on the banks of the Thames alongside the UK headquarters of Japanese bank Nomura.
In the space of just a few hours on a sunny Thursday at the end of April, thirsty City punters in their thousands helped the Angel Lane institution rake in a record-breaking £91,000.
The figure would be equivalent to some 11,000 pints sold based on an average £8 pint price. If the pub had similar takings every day, it would generate an annual turnover of over £30m, more than the revenue of many boutique City investment firms.
Young’s chief executive Simon Dodd marked the occasion with a pint (or two) at the Shed this week following the publication of the firm’s corporate results. He revealed that tastes are changing. Drinkers are supping a revitalised range of beers, including the fruity-flavoured Jubel, devised in Cornwall, and the Clarkson-owned Hawkstone Lager brand.
Dodd told Morning Wire: “One thing’s for sure, when the sun comes out, consumers come out and our numbers jump dramatically.
“People are still coming to the Great British pub which is lovely to see. When they do come out, they want a premium experience, both in terms of the drinks they choose and the environment that they’re in…and they’re willing to pay a bit more.
“Beer is back in fashion…Jubel Peach has gone down extremely well for us, we’ve just launched Jubel Lime, which is going exceptionally well [as is] Hawkstone and Asahi.”
Dodds added the company had seen an 8 per cent year-on-year increase in demand for beer, as well as a 16 per cent increase in sales of cocktails.
Young’s eyes dozens more London pubs
Wandsworth-based Young’s, which currently operates around 280 pubs across the country, has set its sights on further expansion in London, with a medium-term target of growing its nationwide estate to 350 pubs.
The group has been on a major acquisition spree over the past couple of years, snapping up City Pub Group for £162m in 2023 as well as picking up central London chain Cubitt House for £30m earlier this year.
Young’s upped its dividend by 6 per cent as it cheered a “record year” after sales rocketed above £500m for the first time.
The London-listed pub chain, which recently transferred from Aim to the main London market and hopes to join the FTSE 250 in June, posted a 4.6 per cent rise in turnover to £508.2m for the year to end March, while pre-tax profit surged to £41.1m.