Market Town Taverns bullish about prospects in 2010

Ian Fozard, chairman of Harrogate-based Market Town Taverns, said he expected the business grow its sales "significantly" in 2010.

Founded by Fozard in 1999, the group owns and operates 11 free-of-tie pubs in North and West Yorkshire. It has reported turnover for the year to September 30, 2009, of £4.3m, "reflecting like-for-like sales growth of 10 per cent".

Gross profit for the year rose 12 per cent.

Fozard said the positive sales trend has continued into the current financial year. For the first four months trading, like-for-like sales showed an increase of 9.8 per cent. The company was expecting a "further significant improvement in performance during 2010", he added.

He said the company's good performance in what was an otherwise torrid time for many in the on-trade was down to "a lot of hard work in ensuring that all our taverns have the right senior management teams" and that "our customer offer is very much in tune with the drift to quality and the desire to seek out well kept cask ales".

Fozard said all the company's pubs were in profit, with some 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 pub in Harrogate, our first new pub for four years, which opened earlier this month."

Fozard said the group had no debt, while it also had unused bank facilities, putting it in a strong position to expand its estate, though it wouldn't be rushing into any deals.

"We will also not become distracted by expansion and management focus will remain on ensuring that the existing business continues to improve its performance," he said.