Marston’s Q1 trading ‘materially disrupted’ amid festive sales slump
The pub chain saw total revenues of £54m over the three-month period
Marston’s has announced that its trading in the first quarter of this year was “materially disrupted” due to continuous Covid-19 restrictions.
In its latest update, the pub chain revealed total revenues came in at £54m over the three-month period, compared with sales in 2019 of £1.17bn.
With pubs remaining closed during the third national lockdown, Marston’s believes trading will not resume until March at the earliest.
Recently, Marston’s exchanged contracts with SA Brain to operate its portfolio of 156 pubs in
Wales, on a combination of leased and management contract arrangements.
This agreement represents the business’ commitment to strategically developing its portfolio over the coming months.
Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s, said: “The pub sector has been closed for much of the last nine months and remains in a very difficult position. Regrettably there have been casualties across the sector and It is vital that the government reviews urgently the opportunity to continue to support pubs as we reopen the economy in the coming weeks.
“Pubs are viable businesses which are part of the social fabric of Britain and which make a major contribution to the economy and the communities in which they serve. It is vital that they not only survive the short-term crisis but are supported in order to recover and flourish.”
