Shepherd Neame looks to growth in home counties as profits rise to £11.8 million

Kent-based pub chain Shepherd Neame posted a 5% rise in profits over the 53 weeks to 30 June 2018, following a year of ramped-up operations in a number of key sites in London and south-east England.

Shepherd Neame’s pre-tax profits rose 5.4% in the 12 months to June 2018 (Photo: Jonathan Neame)

Pre-tax profit climbed to £11.8m over the past year, a 5.4% rise compared to the same period a year earlier.

Overall turnover also increased slightly by 0.2%, in line with the company’s expectations, according to its latest financial statement.

Shepherd Neame, which operated 321 pubs in the south of England,  retails its own beers, on draught and in bottles, under a range of brand names including Spitfire, Bishops Finger, Whitsable Bay (sold under the Faversham Steam Brewery brand), and, more recently, Orchard View; the company’s first cider brand made in collaboration with Aspalls, rolled out at its sites in 2017.

The pub giant has recently added a number of old London watering holes to its estate, including the Cheshire Cheese, the Samuel Pepys and Savoy Tap.

Looking to the year ahead, the group’s chairman Miles Temperman said it would focus on acquisitions and renovations in Kent, where major housing and infrastructure projects are expected to raise the county’s population over the next decade.

“We aim to build the business to take advantage of these trends by ensuring we own and operate the best pubs in the key locations and develop them to their full potential for food, drinks and accommodation.”

“Our strong cash flow and the recycling of non-core assets enable us to strengthen the balance sheet through selective pub acquisitions in our core trading areas of Kent, London and the South East.”

Chief executive Jonathan Neame said the group has plans to build a new pub hotel in Castle Hill in the centre of the vast Ebbsfleet Garden City development zone, where approximately 15,000 houses are planned to be built in the next 10 years.

“We have other potential new build sites in the pipeline in and around the major new developments in our heartland.”