Whitbread sees growth in pub restaurants
Whitbread's 400 remaining pub restaurants saw a 2.7% increase in like-for-like sales growth in the second half.
The remodelling of the Beefeater estate is now complete, with a "clear, refreshed proposition" around great grilled food.
Despite the substantial reduction of discounting, volumes are continuing to grow with weekly covers up by 6.6%. Whitbread has trialled am new concept within Brewers Fayre of 'informal contemporary food in a stylish environment' and this has been rolled out across 20 pubs with more conversions to be completed this year.
The company will undertake a further 100 conversions in the coming financial year.
Whitbread is planning to open the first new Beefeater for six years later this year.
Pub restaurant sites were a Premier Travel Inn exists or can be built have been retained by the company after the sale of 239 pubs to Mitchells & Butlers in July last year. The company stated: "Over the coming year we will continue to add Premier Travel Inns to the stand-alone restaurants
we retained, as well as opening over 10 new joint sites this coming year."
Chief executive Alan Parker said: "The new restaurants team has achieved a substantial improvement in performance, especially in the second half.
"This included an extensive remodelling programme, new menus and improved levels of service.
"The year saw these successfully introduced across the whole of the Beefeater estate and extensively rolled out across selected Brewers Fayre outlets."
Profit before tax was up 24.5% to £213m on sales up 10.3% to £1.3bn in the year to 1 March. In the pub restaurants division revenue was down 16.6% to £518.9m after the disposal with operating profit down 30.2% to £52.3m.
