Announcing results for the 11 weeks to 14 July, JDW said it intends to provide an update on any impairment and onerous lease provisions at its full-year results.
Martin said: “I think there’s quite a hot property market in London. Out of London, in the pub trade there’s still a lot of pubs that are greatly over-rented — and in London, as a matter of fact.
“The tail end of the last boom is a legacy of over-rented pubs. I suppose the effects of this can last for a few decades in some places. There’s probably quite a lot of people seeking to open pubs and restaurants in the south-east but I would guess that demand is subdued in the rest of the country.”
Martin suggested consumer confidence may have “turned a corner”. “It’s about five years since the credit crunch and we haven’t gone to hell in a handcart, we’ve just had to tighten our belts a bit.”
JDW reported an improvement in operating margin, which was 9.5% in the 11 weeks (including some one-off benefits) against 8.7% in the year-to-date.
Its prices are around 2% ahead of this time last year — “that helps a little bit” — while the beer-duty cut has been a “great help”. The company also had fewer one-off costs associated with a property dispute.
Like-for-like sales grew 3.5% in the 11 weeks, with total sales up 6.2%. Martin highlighted a “variety of small factors”, such as menu development, the range of beers, personnel and pub designs.
Martin said the weather over the period had been a “minor plus”, adding: “I think we are more ‘weather-neutral’ than most.”