Young’s declares City heartland back in business as pub sales up 11 per cent
Pub operator Young’s has said its Square Mile sites are bustling with office workers and tourists once more, as it declares central London back in business.
Sales in the City – which has seen hospitality venues hammered hard by home-working trends and Covid lockdowns in recent years – were up 11.1 per cent in recent weeks, compared to last year, Young’s revealed.
In half-year results, the London-listed business posted adjusted earnings of £45m, up five per cent compared to the same six month period in 2021. Sales had shot up by just under a quarter to £186.5m, sitting above pre-pandemic levels.
After many office workers had been slow to return to their desks in the capital for most of the week, the “swing” was now in favour of office working, Young’s boss Simon Dodd told CityA.M.
“Real confidence” was starting to return to the city, with the capital still very much viewed as the operator’s “heartland”, he added.
Despite cash-strapped consumers feeling a pinch from increases to household bills this winter, Dodd said Young’s hadn’t seen any weakening of sales.
He pointed to buoyant Christmas bookings, significantly ahead of last year. “If there were a consumer slowdown, we would see a drop off in that [as] going out at Christmas is not cheap.”
Publicans are excited about the industry’s first full Christmas trading season in three years, void of Covid-9 restrictions.