The Bedford-based business, which brews beer at its Brewpoint headquarters and operates 130 leased and tenanted pubs plus 28 managed houses, made the announcement as it released its annual results ended 30 September 2024.
Despite challenges facing the industry, the business saw revenue up by 5.6%, totalling £65.8m.
As well as revenue increasing, group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose to £9.9m, a £0.4m increase on 2023.
In the UK, EBITDA for the organisation’s managed house estate of 28 sites achieved an additional £1.1m, with the 130 leased and tenanted businesses delivering performance that was consistent with the previous 12 months.
Significant investment in the core range of Brewpoint beers last year, rebranded and named after Josephine Wells, the wife of original founder Charles Wells, saw considerable growth in sales of own brewed beer of 125%. This was fuelled by demand in both the on-trade and free trade.
Further increases
Three new sites were acquired in France during the financial year, with the group now operating 19 sites across nine cities.
The growth in sales is against a backdrop of continued significant challenges facing the hospitality industry, with the rising cost of living, fluctuating consumer confidence and the changes in political leadership, both in the UK and France. All of which have had an impact on consumers’ decision-making, leading to more customers opting to stay at home rather than visiting their local pub.
The group said further increases are expected as part of the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging and proposed Government changes to business property relief for family businesses in 2026 pose a significant challenge too.
Wells & Co group CEO Peter Wells said: “Over the past 12 months, we have seen growth across all areas of our business which, given the challenges the industry is facing, is pleasing to see. The summer of sport went a long way to supporting sales growth across our pubs, both in the UK and France, and I am delighted to see the investment we have made in our own-brewed beers is paying dividend.
Seek opportunities
“As we look ahead to our coming financial year, we recognise the challenges we face will continue. The impact of the Government’s October budget, due to be introduced in April, will add considerable burden to our cost base if we do nothing to mitigate.
“Our focus for the upcoming financial year is to continually seek opportunities for investment, in the UK and France, to ensure that our sites remain visually competitive and to enable us to grow our estate – both in terms of managed sites as well as working with best-in-class partners.”
On its French estate, Wells added: “Across the whole of our French estate, we are continuing to see growing demand from our customers for a traditional English pub experience.
“With the planned legislative changes in the UK, investing in France is proving to deliver a much greater, sustainable return for the business and with the connections and expertise we now have in the country, this makes it an attractive proposition.”
