Marston's: We looked at leaving Wolverhampton
Pub and brewery giant Marston's has revealed it looked into moving its HQ out of Wolverhampton but decided to stay and invest in the city – and is today toasting a growth in sales and profits.
Underlying revenue for the Banks's beer maker was up by 11.5 per cent to £428.7m for the six months to April 2, partly thanks to new pubs and the takeover of the Thwaites beer business for £25.1m last April. Underlying pre-tax profits rose 11.8 per cent to £33.1m.
Chief executive Ralph Findlay said the firm had considered looking at an alternative base before deciding on staying in Wolverhampton. But he said moving into the new £10 million headquarters Marston's House in Brewery Road earlier this year had proved to be a great decision.
He said: "It is proving a great investment, not just for Marston's but for the city. It was an important statement for us to make and was a significant investment of £10m in Wolverhampton.
"Before spending it, we did think should we look at an alternative and go somewhere else, but we eventually decided that the majority of our staff work in the city and are from the area and the best thing was to stay in Wolverhampton.
"It was a big statement and shows our confidence in Wolverhampton as well."
Profit increased across all areas of the business and Mr Findlay said: "We are encouraged by our first half performance and are on track to meet our expectations for the year.
"In pubs, we have driven our growth by the organic development of pub-restaurants and franchise-style pubs, and more recently through investment in lodges and premium bars, widening our appeal. In brewing, we had an excellent first half year."
Marston's, which operates around 1,600 pubs and employs around 13,500, said its three-year revamp – which completed last year – was successfully 'widening our appeal' as it focuses on selling food and family dining.
Mr Findlay said seven new pub/restaurants were built in the first half of the year and it was on track for 20 in the full year.
Mr Findlay said the beer business had also performed very strongly with profits up 16 per cent and volumes by 22 per cent.
"It reflects the success of the Thwaites deal and the performance of our range of beers including new ones launched in the last year or two," he added.
Mr Findlay said that the second half of the year would be helped by the European Football Championships and continued developments of Marston's estate and beer range.
