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Marston’s PLC on Tuesday said it was on track to meet full-year guidance after positive momentum in the 41 weeks that ended July 12. The Wolverhampton, England-based pub and hotel operator expects to deliver full-year pretax profit in line with company-cited consensus of £67.3 million, which would be up 60% from £42.1 million a year earlier. Capital expenditure for financial 2025 is expected at £60 million, as predicted. Marston’s added it is on track to reach its target for more than £50 million in recurring free cash flow, in the near-to-medium term. During the 15 weeks that ended July 12, like-for-like sales rose 2.9% and were in line with guidance. The improvement came against a ‘strong’ prior year comparator, which included the Euro 2024 Championships, Marston’s noted. Excluding the prior year impact of England match days, like-for-like sales are 4.0% higher. As of Tuesday, Marston’s said year-to-date LfL sales were 2.0% higher than they were in financial 2024. The company pointed to ‘margin expansion initiatives’ which have included rebranding older pubs and making changes to the labour force. Marston expects to complete more than 30 pub refurbishments by the end of financial 2025, ahead of schedule. The firm owns around 1,333 venues across the UK and is currently rolling out new pub formats. So far, it has revamped 26 pubs under this plan, with an additional five due to open by the end of July. ‘We’ve made excellent progress against our strategic priorities so far this year, delivering improved margin performance, strong cash generation and the roll-out of our new pub formats,’ commented Chief Executive Justin Platt. ‘This momentum and our disciplined execution across the business gives us great confidence for the future, and we remain firmly on-track to deliver on full-year market expectations.’ Marston’s shares were down 5.5% at 41.60 pence on Tuesday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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