Wells and Co revenues rise 5.6% to £65.8m in FY24
The group’s investment in its estate happened later in the financial year, and was funded by the disposal of land and assets that were no longer driving a return on investment
The operator of pubs and breweries, Wells and Co, has revealed that revenues rose by 5.6% to £65.8m in the year to 30 September 2024, despite tough trading conditions.
As well as a revenue uplift, group EBITDA rose by 4.2% to £9.9m during the period. In the UK, EBITDA for the organisation’s managed house estate of 28 sites achieved an additional £1.1m, with the 130 leased and tenanted businesses delivering performance that was consistent with the previous 12 months.
A “significant” investment in the core range of Brewpoint beers last year, which has been rebranded and named after Josephine Wells, the wife of original founder Charles Wells, saw “considerable” sales growth of own brewed beer of 125%. The group attributed this demand to both the on-trade and free trade.
The group’s investment in its estate happened later in the financial year, and was funded by the disposal of land and assets that were no longer driving a return on investment.
Wells and Co’s growth in sales comes despite the industry’s documented battle against the rising cost of living, fluctuating consumer confidence and the changes in political leadership – both in the UK and France.
Peter Wells, chief executive of Wells and Co, said: “Over the last 12 months, we have seen growth across all areas of our business which, given the challenges the industry is facing, is pleasing to see. The summer of sport went a long way to supporting sales growth across our pubs, both in the UK and France, and I am delighted to see the investment we have made in our own-brewed beers is paying dividends.
“Our focus for the upcoming financial year is to continually seek opportunities for investment, in the UK and France, to ensure that our sites remain visually competitive and to enable us to grow our estate – both in terms of managed sites as well as working with best-in-class partners.”
During FY24, the group acquired three new sites in France – two in Bordeaux, totalling seven in the city, and an inaugural location in Strasbourg.
While like-for-like growth in France (2.4%) has been lower than in the UK, Wells and Co anticipates that these additional sites will drive revenue growth in 2025 as they reach maturity.