Spirit Pubs enjoys sales rise thanks to makeover success
SPIRIT PUBS group, the operator behind chains including Flaming Grill and Chef & Brewer, said its managed estate continued to outperform the market, after profits rose seven per cent in the first half of the year.
The company, which de-merged from Punch Taverns last year, said pre-tax profits increased to £20m in the six months to 3 March from £18m last year.
Chief executive Mike Tye said its managed estate of 800 pubs was performing “extremely well”, largely due to squeezed consumers continuing to seek out value for money meals, with like for like sales increasing by 5.6 per cent.
The group embarked on a huge programme to revamp its pubs after its de-merger from Punch, which is now 76 per cent complete with Chef & Brewer and Taylor Walker brands fully refurbished.
Tye said this had helped boost the average turnaround in sales at newly fitted pubs by 15 per cent.
Yet its legacy of 530 tenant-pubs, which was until recently still controlled by Punch, continued to see like-for-like net income fall to 4.5 per cent.