Young’s
Over the year ended 31 March, Young’s saw in increase in revenue of 25.4%, with like-for-like sales up 5.7%. Chief executive Simon Dodd commented, “We achieved a huge amount during the past financial year, and I am extremely pleased with this performance. We delivered it against a challenging backdrop, which was characterised by unpredictable British weather and prolonged economic uncertainty.” Young’s estimate that their additional costs for this year, will be around £11 million. They are hoping to cover this by improved efficiency so that they can limit any price increases.
Wetherspoons
The scheduled opening date for JDW’s conversion of the old booking office at Fulham Broadway Station, the Walham Green, is 17 June. This will be followed by their conversion of the former London Dungeon site, the Sun Wharf, on 28 August. JDW have also acquired a former restaurant site in Merchant Square, Paddington, which should open in late Summer. The site is not particularly close to the station.
Readers may recall the convoluted history of the Grape and Grain at Crystal Palace (SE19 2AA). JDW bought this popular free house back in 2017 and obtained planning permission for a significant development in 2019. Instead, they put the site up for sale. It did not sell, however and, in March, JDW announced that they were going to reopen it themselves after all. No recent planning applications have so far been submitted however.
JDW already have two student union bars and several pubs at holiday parks operating on a franchise basis but they have now opened their first franchised pub. This also marks their arrival in the Isle of Man. The pub, the Conister Arms in Douglas, should be open by the time that you read this.
JDW continue to trade well, with like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks ended 27 April 2025 up by 5.6%. So far this year they have opened two pubs and sold seven and their current estate is 795 pubs. They have also purchased the freeholds of seven pubs that they had previously been leasing for a total cost of £17 million. JDW have also purchased 7,236,487 of their own shares.
Shepherd Neame
A new beer has been added to Sheps’ permanent range, a 4% ABV stout called Iron Wharf. It takes its name from a site on Faversham Creek, close to the brewery, where ships were built. This is the second new permanent beer this year, following session IPA First Drop (4.3% ABV) added last month.
Congratulations to Jonathan Neame, Sheps’ chief executive, upon his appointment as High Sheriff of the County of Kent in April. Mr Neame also made some interesting comments about the younger generation of drinkers. He said, “If you go around our pubs, particularly in London, which is always a good lead indicator, you do see plenty of twenty-somethings. They do tend to go out less frequently but, when they do go out, they spend more. If people of my age tend to have two days off alcohol, they may have one or two more and, when they go out, they spend at a higher value and consume more.” He did however caution that this was subject to the economy rebalancing and disposable income picking up.
New brands
Stonegate have created a new brand called the People’s Pub. Some 220 pubs from their managed estate will be rebranded and the company says that they will focus on ‘beer, live sport, food and entertainment’ and will look to ‘champion local character and community connections’. The pubs will retain their current names.
In a similar vein, Greene King are expanding their ‘Farmhouse Kitchen’ brand. This is a ‘carvery with a café’ concept and any pubs that are converted to this format will change significantly. GK have also purchased a chain called Hickory’s, an American-style smokehouse and barbecue brand, and may be looking to convert some pubs to that format as well. If any pubs are being converted to restaurants, then that is a change of use that requires planning permission.