Young’s losses widen to £45.2m

Young’s, the pub chain and brewery, saw its losses before tax widen to £45.2m up from £29.1m the previous year. 

With the group only being able to trade four months in the 52 weeks ending 29 March, the pub chain also saw its group revenue fall by nearly 71% to £90.6m, leading to an operating loss of £35.1m.

Despite the difficult conditions, Young’s invested £17m in enhancing its managed estate, including upgrades to its outdoor trading spaces, transforming bar and restaurant spaces and opening two new pubs: Enderby House in Greenwich and Alban’s Well in St Albans. 

On 12 April, the group reopened 144 of its 220 pubs to the public, with the venues resuming 85% of normal trade over the past five weeks. 

Looking ahead, the group has plans to open the rest of its estate this week. 

Patrick Dardis, chief executive of Young’s, said: “The last financial year has been one of the toughest we have ever endured; our wonderful pubs spent many more days with their doors closed to our customers than open. Talk of like-for-like sales and new pub openings took a backseat, replaced by national lockdowns, trading restrictions and curfews.

“Despite this, there is now a real sense of excitement and anticipation for the year to come. With all our pubs having reopened, albeit subject to operational restrictions for now, we are focussed on a strong recovery.”

He added: “I am incredibly proud of the Young’s team, for all their hard work and the way they handled the challenges thrown at them over the course of the year. Our operators and support teams went through the immense task of closing and then reopening our pubs for three national lockdowns. 

“During the enforced periods of closure, we were busy behind the scenes reviewing our cost base, investing in the estate and streamlining the business so that we returned stronger and can look forward with confidence.”