17/10/2023 08:12:00
Marston's has said it hopes to raise £50m by selling off more pubs over the next year. The group operates 1,415 managed, franchised, and leased pubs across the UK and employs around 11,000 people. The Caterer reports that it is aiming to reduce its debt by £60m - £70m in the next 12 months and said it expected to sell off around £50m worth of non-core properties. During the past year, Marston's generated £55m via the disposal of other non-core pubs and reduced its head office headcount costs by around £5m. Total retail sales across the group's managed and franchised pubs were 11.3% up in the 12 months to 30 September 2023, while overall like-for-like sales rose 10.1%. Marston's said a trial of a new franchise-style model in 19 food-led pubs had been a success with sales growth "significantly exceeding" its wider food business. It is on track to roll-out the model to 50 food-led pubs over the next year.
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) has been bought by US private equity house Apollo Funds. The Restaurant Group Board said that it had considered all scenarios carefully, including 'proactive discussions' with possible purchasers for its individual divisions, but it concluded 'that the certainty provided by this cash transaction was a superior out for TGR shareholders.' The cash deal - which will see the group become a privately-owned company - values each of the company's shares at 65p. This represents a 34% premium to TRG's closing share price of 49p on 11 October, reports the Restaurant. The acquisition implies an enterprise value of £701m and a multiple of around nine times TRG's Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended 2 July 2023.
Greene King Pub Partners, the leased and tenanted franchise division of Greene King, has announced the launch of its 40th Hive Pub. The Britannia pub in Bradwell, Stoke-on-Trent, which was previously a Greene King managed site, reopened following a £400,000 investment from the pub operator and brewer, advises Morning Advertiser. Greene King Pub Partners managing director Dan Robinson said: "We are delighted to hit yet another significant milestone in the rollout of Hive Pubs and our pub franchise offer. Hive Pubs continues to go from strength-to-strength and we intend to keep this momentum up head into 2024."
Just one in two members of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) are making a profit, according to a new survey from the trade body. The insight from BII members highlights the impact of exceptional costs on their businesses over the last few years, advises Pub & Bar. While two thirds of respondents reported trading being back to normal levels or seeing a rise in sales over the past year, fortunes are mixed when it comes to profitability, with only one in two of these making a profit. Pubs have seen significant cost increases, driven by high inflation across all areas of their business in addition to inflated and controversial energy prices. The BII has written to the chancellor ahead of the Autumn Statement, calling for further investment in pubs and bars.
Next month's Autumn Statement is a "golden opportunity" for the Government to "encourage growth" and help pubs that are "teetering over an ever-eroding cliff edge", according to trade bodies from across the sector, reports Morning Advertiser.