Pub chain Marston’s toasts record festive sales boost
Pub chain Marston’s has reported a “solid” festive quarter and record sales on Christmas day in another good sign for the hospitality sector.
Total retail sales in the 16 weeks to January 18 were up three per cent, driven by growth in both food and drink sales, Marston’s said.
Like-for-like sales during the same period were up two per cent, reflecting “strong trading over the festive period offset by poor weather conditions in November and January”, the company added.
Marston’s operates 1,550 pubs in England, Scotland, and Wales, and employs around 11,000 staff.
It used to own three breweries, but ditched brewing October and switched to ‘pure play hospitality’.
The move followed similar changes at chains like Shepherd Neame, which announced a pivot from off-trade – sales in places like supermarkets, where alcohol is sold for consumption elsewhere – to on-trade sales in pubs last Autumn.
While Marston’s growth was ahead of the wider pub market over Christmas, it failed to keep up with some competitors. Young’s, for example, reported growth of 10.5 per cent in the thirteen weeks to January 13.
The overall pub market achieved only a marginal 0.7 per cent increase in sales year on year in the run-up to Christmas, according to CGA by NIQ in partnership with RSM UK.
Chief executive Justin Platt, said: “I am pleased to report a solid first quarter performance for Marston’s, with a particularly strong key festive trading period, achieving record sales on Christmas Day.”
“We are excited for the year ahead as we build on this performance through the successful execution of our refocused strategy, driving revenue growth through event driven marketing and the roll out of our differentiated pub formats.”
“We remain well placed to deliver FY25 market expectations [£68.3m profit before tax] and the guidance set out at our October 2024 Capital Markets Day.”