Marston’s, a leading local pub business with an estate of 1,339 pubs across the UK, today announces its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 28 September 2024.

In its latest figures, revenues up 3% to £898.6m, and like for like sales up 4.8%, consistently outpacing the broader market with growth in both food and drink sales

Underlying pub operating profit up 17.9% to £147.2 million (2023: £124.8 million) with strong topline performance and operational efficiencies delivering improvement in underlying profitability

Net debt cut by £301.7m to £883m driven by proceeds from sale of stake in CMBC, robust levels of organic recurring free cash flow generation and disposal proceeds from non-core and unlicensed properties.

Justin Platt, CEO of Marston’s PLC, commented: “2024 has been a defining year for Marston’s as we began an exciting new chapter as a leading pure-play hospitality business. The sale of our stake in CMBC has been transformational, enabling us to significantly reduce debt, increase our flexibility and focus on what we do best: running great local pubs. 

“This single-minded focus, combined with our rejuvenated strategy, is already showing in strong financial results. We’ve delivered like-for-like sales growth ahead of the market, significant margin improvements and robust cash flow, while current trading is encouraging with Christmas bookings already ahead of last year.

“Community-based pubs like ours play an essential role in UK society, backed by our hardworking local teams who give our guests great experiences every single day. All this gives Marston’s a superb foundation for sustainable, long-term growth, and fills us with confidence for 2025 and beyond.”