The business, which, in December, announced its results for the 12 months ended 25 March 2025, said its managed houses division had “led the charge” with Christmas Day sales up 20.5% versus 2024 and retail sales rose by 9.9% during the six-week trading period that included Christmas and new year.
It added drink sales were up 8.4%, food sales saw a 10.4% uptick and bedroom sales rose by 15.7% in those six weeks.
The three-week core Christmas period from 15 December to 4 January was “particularly busy” with retail sales up by 14.1%.
JW Lees managing director William Lees-Jones said: “Our team executed Christmas extremely well with both events and walk-ins performing well.
Not as grim as trailed
“In some ways it was a perfect storm with Christmas Day falling on a Thursday with no snow or named storms in the festive period and there was probably some relief after the Chancellor’s Budget since things were not as grim for consumers as had been trailed in the media.
“We will continue to lobby the Chancellor to make changes to both inheritance taxes and business rates since we believe that well run family businesses and the hospitality sector are critical for growth in the UK economy and taxing these sectors to the hilt will stop growth.”
Lees-Jones was outspoken against the Government as the company announced its results for the previous financial year.
Fragile enough
He said at the time: “JW Lees feels aggrieved the Government would want to disadvantage UK businesses at a time when the business environment is fragile enough with unemployment rising and the UK needs to offer domestic businesses incentives to grow the economy rather than taxing them to the hilt.
“The increased costs that the Chancellor imposed on us in her two Budgets mean the business will inevitably be less profitable and so we need to be cautious and focus on productivity.
“We are calling on the Chancellor to put measures in place to support hospitality and family businesses since we need incentives to invest and grow and at the moment we are spending too much time worrying about tax and succession rather than investing in our business and creating new jobs.”
JW Lees was founded in 1828 by retired cotton manufacturer John Lees and now employs more than 1,600 people – 150 at its brewery and site in Middleton Junction and over 1,375 in its 49 managed pubs, inns and hotels. JW Lees also lets a further 87 pubs to JW Lees Pub Partners.
