JT Davies & Sons Holdings Limited, the parent company for Brakspear, announced turnover for the period had increased by 9% to £38.6m, up from £35.4m in 2022, but said it expected a reduction in profitability.
Underlying Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) stood at £10.9m, slightly lower than the £11.2m reported for 2022 when the company benefitted from a business interruption claim amounting to £0.7m.
Adjusted profit before tax was unchanged at £7.2m while net debt was reduced by 22% to £17m, compared with £22m in 2022, resulting from bank debt repayments during the year amounting to £3.8m and an increase of £1.2m in cash reserves at year end.
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said: "Our business performed very well in 2023, with a high level of stability across our leased and tenanted estate and managed business, driving the organic sales growth.
Ongoing ambition
"While I am generally happy with our profitability levels, our profit conversion has reduced because of the well documented cost pressures which affected our customers and directly impacted the operation of our pubs.
"Our balance sheet grows from strength to strength, enabling us to realise our ongoing ambition to add a significant number of high-quality pubs to our L&T and managed portfolios.”
The company invested £5.3m into its estate during the 12-month period, including the £1.8m redevelopment of managed site the White Bear in Warlingham, Surrey, which reopened in January 2024, and £800k into the Leicester Arms, a tenanted pub in Penshurst, Kent.
During 2023 there were no pub acquisitions, and one sale, of the Reformation near Reading, which had been closed for several years.
However, Brakspear has purchased four freehold pubs so far this year, the Royal Exchange and the Rose & Crown, both in Hampshire, as well as the Swan Inn, Chiddingfold and the George Inn near Bedford.
Significant challenges
The Henley-based pubco currently operates around 110 leased and tenanted pubs alongside 10 sites as part of its managed division, Honeycomb Houses, and said it is “actively looking” for more acquisition opportunities across both parts of the business.
Davies added: "I am very proud of the achievements of our business partners in the L&T estate, and of the contribution from our teams in Honeycomb Houses and at head office.
“Together we continue to deliver exceptional results in a time of significant challenges, which we continue to face.
"I look forward to the Government delivering on its promise to reform the unfair and unfit business rates regime, which is long overdue."
