Young’s revenue up 39.7% in Q1 2022

The business, which has its headquarters in Wandsworth, south-east London, said the strong trading momentum achieved in Q4 of 2021 has continued and reported its Q1 2022 like-for-like sales were up 34.9% on last year.

The business is set to benefit from the nine sites it acquired last year plus recent additions and investments made into its estate.

Excellent start

Young’s chairman Stephen Goodyear said: “I am pleased to report the strong trading momentum achieved in the final quarter of last year has continued, with an excellent start to the current financial year. In the first 13 weeks, revenue was up 39.7% in total and up 34.9% on a like-for-like basis against last year.

“This financial year we will benefit from our investment in the nine acquisitions we made last year and the more recent acquisitions of the Bedford Arms (Chenies Village) and Merlins Cave (Chalfont St Giles).

“We will also see the full-year benefit from our major investments last year into our existing estate. These include the Grand Junction Arms (Harlesden) completed in January, the Spread Eagle (Wandsworth), reopened in March with an additional 21 bedrooms and the Phoenix (Victoria), reopened in late May of this year.”

Patrick Dardis stepped down from his role as chief executive today (Tuesday 5 July) after six years in the role and is being replaced by chief operating officer Simon Dodd, who was recruited three years ago with succession planning in mind.

Inflationary environment

Dardis will remain on the board for an orderly transition to Dodd, until he retires at the end of September but will remain available to the company until the end of March 2023.

Goodyear continued: “The board feels Young’s is well placed to manage the impact of the current inflationary environment on our cost base but are very mindful of the potential impact that the inflationary environment could have on consumer sentiment and, ultimately, spending in our pubs.

“We will continue to invest in the future growth of the business, sticking to our strategy of running premium, differentiated and well-invested pubs and hotels. The strength of our balance sheet leaves us well-placed to make further investments and generate good returns for the long term.”