Like-for-like growth in the division was 3.8% across the 36 weeks to 5 January, with total sales in the period up 8.2%. Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners grew 5.6% over the 36 weeks, while Greene King said there was strong growth in its Brewing & Brands division, with core own-brewed volume up 5.8%.
Over the last six weeks, food took a further share of its managed sales mix, with like-for-like sales growth of 5.8%, room like-for-likes up 12.5% and drink like-for-like sales up 3.9%.
Record-breaking
Rooney Anand, chief executive, said: “Trading over the important Christmas and New Year period has been very strong with all of our businesses performing well, driven by the strength of our seasonal offers and our continued focus on delivering industry-leading value, service and quality to our customers.
“Our teams have excelled this festive period, particularly in terms of delivering great customer experiences, and this has helped us deliver record-breaking achievements.
“Retail like-for-like sales over the two most important trading weeks of the year were up over 6% and we sold a record 62,000 meals on Christmas Day. This drove record retail sales on Christmas Day of £3.1m, up over 12% on the previous year. New Year’s Eve was also very strong with retail sales up 10% to £4.5m.”
Disposals
Greene King added a net 28 new sites to its retail estate in the year-to-date. “The retail margin remains strong and we expect the full year to be in line to slightly ahead of last year,” the firm said.
Greene King said its disposal programme is “on track”, with 81 non-core sites sold in Pub Partners in the year-to-date.
“Core own-brewed volume in Brewing & Brands was up 5.8% after 36 weeks, with growth of almost 20% in the last six weeks, driven by a strong take home performance. Old Speckled Hen, the UK’s leading premium ale brand, was up over 15% in the year-to-date.
Overall, our expectations for profit, cashflow and our balance sheet are unchanged and we remain confident that we will continue to provide growth in earnings and dividends, and improving returns, to our shareholders.”