Market Town Taverns: strong trading results

Market Town Taverns, the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) company that operates 11 free-of-tie managed pubs in Yorkshire, has reported strong results for the year to 30 September 2009.

The company saw like-for-likes grow 12% to £4.28m, with profit before tax up by 268% to £327,000.

For the first four months' trading in the current year, like-for-like sales show an increase of 9.8%.

As a consequence, the company is expecting a further significant improvement in performance during 2010. Managing director Ian Fozard attributed the positive trend and improved results to "a lot of hard work in ensuring that all our taverns have the right senior management teams", and "the drift to quality and the desire to seek out well-kept cask ales". He added: "All our taverns are profitable and some are showing very strong growth in spite of the economic climate.

"During 2010 we will see the benefits of the extension to our Headingley tavern flow through, as well as from the opening of the Swan on the Stray in Harrogate, the company's first new tavern for four years.

"We have no debt plus unused bank facilities, and are in a strong position to expand our tavern estate further during the next couple of years.

"However, despite there being many pubs on the market in our trading area, we will only do so if the right opportunities present themselves in terms of location and demographics.

"We will not expand simply to achieve a larger estate. Suitable opportunities are, unfortunately, quite rare. We will also not become distracted by expansion, and management focus will remain on ensuring that the existing business continues to improve its performance."

The company, which has 27 shareholders, has un-veiled a dividend increase

of 20%.