Young’s down as pubs struggle

AIM-listed Young & Co.’s Brewery (LON:YNGA) saw its share price sink by 1.49% to 1,024.50p (as of 15:00 GMT) as revenues for the 26 weeks ended 28th September fell by 67%. The firm booked a loss before tax of £21.8 million for the half year, well down from the £24.3 million profit in the same period of 2019.

CEO Patrick Dardis commented: “Our business recently celebrated 189 years and the last six months has been one of the toughest periods in that incredible journey.

“The resilience of our customers has truly amazed us. The cautious approach we adopted and the safe environment we provided were key reasons why our customers flocked back in large numbers. The continued efforts of our pub staff to go above and beyond in protecting our customers in these challenging conditions is a testament to our wonderful people.

“As a business we benefitted from the Government’s “Eat Out to Help Out” campaign throughout August, which boosted midweek footfall with diners attracted by the headline 50% discount. We also made use of the Government’s much welcomed furlough scheme which enabled us to protect the jobs of nearly 5,000 employees.

“Despite the challenges presented to us, our rural pubs and hotels, particularly those in the South West and in coastal regions, have delivered like-for-like growth against last year benefitting from the staycations and weekend visitors. These tougher times have also demonstrated our strength in controlling our cost base in a very efficient manner.

“Whilst we were hoping that a further lockdown could have been avoided, the second lockdown with the financial support available from the Government will be considerably less damaging to our business than the potential move to Tier 3 in the areas that we operate. We remain positive at the prospect of trading in December.”