Marston’s Brewery to sell 200 UK pubs

Maston’s has announced plans to dispose of 200 of its pubs in the coming 12 months to focus instead on women and budget family dining.

Marston’s plans to sell a further 200 pubs over the next 12 months

The pub chain plans to offload 200 traditional pubs next year while building “at least 25 new pubs” focusing on its “F-Plan” to target “foodies, families, females and 40/50-somethings.”

The announcement comes as the brewer, responsible for brands such as Pedigree and Banks’s bitter, released its preliminary results for the year to 4 of October.

The group’s underlying revenue was up 1% to £787.6 million, while like-for-like sales at its food-focused and premium pubs rose 2.1% in the seven weeks to 22 November compared with the same period in 2013.

The average profit per pub was up 10% with like-for-like sales up 2% with sales boosted by the brewer’s Hobgoblin real ale, which saw sales rise by 4%.

Ralph Findlay, Marston’s chief executive, said: “We view the eating-out market in the UK, particularly for pubs, as attractive. There’s a sweet spot in the market around pubs significantly improving their offer to families since the smoking ban was introduced. Menus, service and quality have got better at a price point people can afford.”

This year the brewer opened 27 new pubs, its 100th new-build pub opening in Dumfries in September, while 535 of its pubs were converted into franchises.

Findlay added: “Our Brewing business is benefiting from our category leadership in premium ale and new product development. There are some signs of modest economic improvement, with the emergence of real wage growth and resilience within the economic regions outside London.  Looking forward, we will continue with our expansion strategy to invest in at least 25 new-build pubs each year. We also remain on track to dispose of the residual 200 pubs targeted for sale from our Taverns estate over the next 12 months to create the desired structure for our business for the future.”