Overview
- The company reduced pub opening times, flexed staff hours and tightened hiring while implementing targeted price increases to protect margins.
- London venues outperformed with like-for-like sales inside the M25 up 11.2% in the second half of 2025, with far slower growth outside the capital.
- Own-brand beer volumes declined, led by weaker supermarket demand and a consumer shift toward stout and premium lagers; its new Iron Wharf stout recorded strong pub sales.
- For the 26 weeks to 27 December, turnover was broadly flat at about £85 million, with profit up 2.7% to £4.4 million and the interim dividend raised 3.4% to 4.5p.
- About half of the group’s energy is hedged into the next financial year, leaving potential exposure if prices stay elevated, while leadership continues to press for business-rates reform it calls unfair.