Food and Beer Prove Resilient for Marston’s

LONDON - Sales of food and beer at independent brewer and pub operator Marston’s contributed to a resilient performance for the first half of the year in a difficult trading environment.

Despite the economic headwinds, food sales in Marston’s Inns and Taverns grew to 37 per cent of total sales, and turnover at the Marston’s Beer Company grew by 19 per cent following the successful integration of the Wychwood Brewery last year and the trend among beer drinkers towards regional ales.

Acknowledging a 2.8 per cent decline in Group turnover in the first six months of the year, in an interview with online business broadcaster Cantos, Chief Executive Ralph Findlay said he was cautiously optimistic about the outlook.

“We’ve been encouraged that over the last 13 weeks or so, we have seen an improvement in our trading. I think it remains fragile. But we are cautiously optimistic.”

New Finance Director Andrew Andrea said that a tight control over costs had helped to protect margins and maintained that the group remained committed to paying down net debt.

“Although debt has increased slightly, this is in line with our expectations, and we fully expect to see a net debt reduction by the end of this financial year.”

The interviews and transcripts are available now on w3.cantos.com/marstons.

It’s free to view. All you need to do is register at www.cantos.com. Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company executives. If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries@cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1333.

Source: Marston’s

If you would like to contact us, please email enquiries at cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1333.