Young's managed like-for-like sales increase by 4.2%

Like-for-like sales in the tenanted Ram Pub Company were up 1.6%, with overall revenue for the division down 6.7% following the transfer of three high-turnover pubs and the sale of a further three.

In the managed division total drinks sales were up 7.9% and up 4.8% on a like-for-like basis. Food sales grew 4.9% and 2.6% respectively, driven by brunch offers and the Burger Shack concept, which is now in 35 pubs. Hotel sales grew 4.7% on a like-for-like basis.

The group invested £53m during the year – in acquisitions and upgrades to its existing estate.

Managed house revenue in the first seven weeks of the current year is up 11.0% in total and 7.5% on a like-for-like basis.

Chief executive Patrick Dardis said: “I am delighted with this strong set of results, delivered against a challenging market backdrop, as they demonstrate the benefit of our strategy of running a differentiated, premium and well-invested pub estate in superb locations and with a highly customer-centric approach.

“We have continued to invest in our future growth through a combination of exciting acquisitions and investment in our existing estate while also upgrading our technology to enhance the customer experience and realise productivity gains.

“We’ve started the year well and, despite being up against very strong comparatives in the previous year, managed houses revenue in the first seven weeks was up 11.0% in total and up 7.5% on a like- for-like basis.

“Although uncertainty prevails in both the political and economic environment, we are confident that our strategy will continue to deliver superior shareholder returns. I am a firm believer that the traditional British pub will never go out of fashion and, as a result, I’m both excited and optimistic about the year ahead.”