Marston's mulls more pub refurbs as new format shows improved returns

(Alliance News) - Marston's PLC on Tuesday said it was considering more pub refurbishments as it reported increased profits on the back of broadly flat sales.

The Wolverhampton, England-based pub operator said pretax profit rose 20% to GBP23.3 million in the 26 weeks to March 28 from GBP19.5 million the year prior.

Basic earnings per share increased 17% to 2.7 pence from 2.3p.

Revenue declined 1.1% to GBP422.7 million from GBP427.4 million, held back by temporary pub closures associated with the accelerated rollout of new pub formats. This impacted sales by GBP2.2 million, the firm said.

Marston's said 60 new pub format refurbishments have been completed, ahead of the initial target of at least 50 for the year.

In total, 91 pubs have now been reformatted across financial 2025 and 2026.

Marston's said continued investment in new pub formats is driving improved returns and it is "actively evaluating" an expanded rollout programme of around 100 sites for financial 2027.

All new formats are "performing well", Marston's said, delivering average return on invested capital of 35% and like-for-like growth of around 20%.

Marston's said it is "well positioned" for the important summer trading period, including the World Cup.

It remains on track to deliver its more than GBP50 million recurring free cash flow target, with leverage on track to reduce to around 4.0 times by financial year end.

"The board remains confident in delivering full-year market expectations and in continuing to make progress against the targets set out at the capital markets day," it added.

Shares in Marston's were down 6.2% at 47.64 pence each in London on Tuesday.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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