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The London-based business told shareholders that it ‘traded exceptionally well over the Christmas and New Year period’ as punters shrugged off pressure from higher rental and mortgage costs
Pub chain Young’s has reported bumper sales over Christmas and the New Year.
As it faces increase costs as a result of the Budget, the strong festive sales sent the London-based firm’s shares up in early trading after telling shareholders it “traded exceptionally well over the Christmas and New Year period”. steeper rents and mortgages.
There was plenty to cheer about as total managed revenue shot up by 30.4% for the five weeks to January 13, while like-for-like sales saw a 11.6% rise. Sales on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day were 10.5% up compared to last year.
The group’s bottom line benefitted from its £162m buy-out of City Pub Group late in 2023, which added another 50 pubs to Young’s portfolio. This acquisition drove total managed revenues up by 26.1%, with a 7.9% boost in like-for-like sales over the 15-week period to January 13.
An acceleration in sales was noticeable, as refurbished pubs saw customers spending more. Young’s chief executive Simon Dodds said: “We are very pleased with our excellent trading over the festive period, which reflects the rigorous planning, commitment and enthusiasm of our teams across the business.
“We continued to break sales records across the period, delivering some of the highest daily sales in Young’s history.”
Mr Dodds also stressed how recent pub investments had paid off during the festivities: “Our recent pub investments performed exceptionally well across the period.”
Mr Dodds stated that, despite the challenges posed by the upcoming increases to national insurance contributions and the national living wage in April, the company remains “optimistic about the year ahead”. As a result, Young’s shares rose by 3.6% to 862p on Thursday.
