This year we are benefitting from the four acquisitions made last year. Since
the start of the year we exchanged on the Bull (Bracknell), which will open in
September. We also transferred three tenanted pubs into our managed house
estate: the Hope & Anchor (Brixton), Kings Arms (Wandsworth) and the Grove
(Camberwell). These additions, along with other investments made in our
existing estate last year, will provide a helpful tailwind for continued
growth.
As every year of strong performance goes by, we set the bar higher for
ourselves while the economic environment is becoming more challenging. Nor is
the Government making life much easier for our sector, with additional cost
pressures from increased business rates, the National Living Wage, the
Apprenticeship Levy and the general uncertainty created first by Brexit and
more recently by the outcome of the General Election. However, I am confident
that the expertise and energy that exists throughout Young's and our very
deliberate strategic positioning gives us the armoury to continue our
outperformance of the sector. We operate very much at the premium end of the
sector and the resilience of this segment's customer base has, so far, been
encouraging. Consumers, when they do go out, are looking for an experience
and going to a Young's pub is seen as an affordable lifestyle choice – a treat
but not an extravagance. Long may that continue.”