Top UK pub chain selling bars due to energy prices

Sales at Marston’s continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels

British pub operator Marston’s has announced plans to sell some of its sites, saying revenues in the year to October were still 1% behind 2019, as sales continue to be hit by the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

“We’ve got some lower-end, non-strategic sites we will sell over the next year or so… our strategy is not to be a city and town-center pub group,” Marston’s Chief Executive Officer Andrew Andrea told The Standard, warning that electricity prices in recent weeks were higher than anticipated because of a “volatile market.”

Andrea added that the pub selloff was unlikely to include London sites as “they’re still performing pretty well.”

According to the top executive, there were some signs of green shoots at the firm, with revenues in recent weeks 4% above 2019 levels and hopes of a World Cup bounce later this year.

“If I look at the Premier League and Champions League seasons to date, people are still coming out to pubs to watch sport – it’s a good place to go with friends,” he told the media. “As the tournament goes on, if England are there you bank an uptick in sales.”

READ MORE: UK pubs and brewers risk closure – FT

In September, Mitchells & Butlers, Marston’s rivals, warned of tighter margins in its new financial year as costs rise. Last week, Wetherspoon’s said annual operating costs had nearly doubled.

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