The Manchester-based business, which comprises a brewery, 49 managed pubs and 87 Partner Pubs, plus hotels and a wine merchant, has seen revenue rise by 9% to £95.8m (up £8.3m from FY23) and pre-tax profit up 104% to £7.1m, in the year ended 31 March 2024.
In the company’s previous financial year ended March 2023, pre-tax profit was down by 56% from £8.1m to £3.5m owing to factors such as energy prices, reduced Government support and increased investments.
The group bought the Pointing Dog pub, in Cheadle, in June 2023 from Marston’s and carried out capital expenditure worth £8.1m across 16 existing sites, including the development of what was Dutton’s in Albert Square Manchester, to be reopened in February 2024 as JW Lees Founder’s Hall, which is a finalist in The Publican Awards 2025.
JW Lees sold one property in the year, the Junction Garage in Middleton, and a small parcel of land at the Old Cock Inn, Middleton, which together generated a profit of £689k.
Since its year-end, JW Lees has purchased two new sites, the Bellflower in Garstang from Marston’s and the Craigside in Llandudno from Whitbread.
First retail agreement
Lees-Jones said: “During 2024-25, JW Lees will continue to grow its estate predominantly by the development of its existing estate and, where opportunities arise, the acquisition of new freehold pubs, inns and hotels in north-west England and north Wales.”
This year JW Lees introduced its first retail agreement, whereby a retail operator runs one of its pubs with direct responsibility for the operation of the site for a percentage of sales. This has been extended into two more trial sites with a view to more.
JW Lees launched a 3.4% ABV Light Lager, “which has gone down well with our customers”, as well as brewing one new beer for every week of the year in its small-batch Boilerhouse Brewery, which led to an uplift of 175% in sales of its Boilerhouse beers albeit from a low base. Boilerhouse Craft Pale Ale grew by 87% in the year and JW Lees Stout was in 92% growth.
The company mourned the loss of Simon Lees-Jones, who was a director from the sixth generation of the JW Lees founder John Lees, who died peacefully in his sleep at home on 8 October 2024, aged 58.
JW Lees managing director Lees-Jones said: “JW Lees business was finally starting to feel like we were back to some form of business as usual after a roller-coaster four years with lockdowns, huge volatility in energy contracts and the cost-of-living crisis and then the Chancellor announced her ‘Halloween Budget’, which will be a nightmare for all UK family companies.
“We are 100% behind Family Business UK in campaigning for changes to the proposed changes to Business Property Relief (BPR) which, if followed through to legislation, will make UK companies uncompetitive both domestically and in export markets.
Famously competitive sector
“For almost 50 years, since it was introduced by Jim Callaghan in 1976, BPR has given JW Lees the confidence and certainty to invest our profits back into the business, employ and develop more people, and reinvest in the communities we trade in.
“BPR has allowed us to compete and grow our business which trades in a famously competitive sector with publicly listed and private equity owned competitors. JW Lees will do everything that we can to remain a family business and we’re proud to have created over 1,000 new jobs in the past 30 years.”
He continued: “We are calling on the Prime Minister to intervene on the proposed changes to BPR with a formal consultation in the new year since there are simple solutions, like ensuring family companies really are what they claim to be and are actively run by families.
“When companies are sold, tax is paid in any case, but for family companies to have to pay out additional dividends to pay for the inter-generational passing of shares will make many of those companies uncompetitive.
“We cannot allow the Government to destroy family companies like this since they are the bedrock of the UK economy.
“Research commissioned by Family Business UK by CBI Economics forecasts that capping BPR at £1m could actually result in a net fiscal loss to the exchequer of £1.3bn between 2026-27 and 2029-30 rather than raise £1.4bn as forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility. This comes as a result of an estimated 126,000 job losses, a significant fall in investment and headcount, leading to a £9.4bn fall in GVA (the value of goods and services produced across the economy).”
