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Young's brews up plan to stay smart
20 Nov 2008Young's, brewer of one of London's favourite pints, today said its pubs will stick to the smarter end of the drinking trade in a bid to see off the worst effects of the recession in the capital's saloon bars.
The group said operating profits were flat at £12 million in the six months to the end of September. Like-for-like sales in the last seven weeks fell 3.3%.
"We have had to deal with huge costs increases in food, utilities and wages but we are also seeing the benefits of fixing the roof while the sun was shining," said chief executive Steve Goodyear.
"What we have done is reinvested the proceeds from the sale of the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth into our estate, enabling us to attract customers by firmly staying at the premium end of the market."
Goodyear plans to get food up to 35% of sales from the current 25%. The interim dividend rises 2% to 6.12p.
