Increased revenues in the Kent-based brewer’s pub estate were offset by a decline in the Brewing and Brands division.
Shepherd Neame reported a strong period for its pubs, with an exceptional performance from its London Retail pubs as well as good trading in its tenanted estate.
It has completed two major pub projects in London and further invested in repositioning its portfolio.
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Investment into the business entailed £6.2m of capital expenditure, including two major projects in London: The White Horse and Bower in Westminster and The Hoop and Grapes in Farringdon.
Statutory profit before tax for the period was up 2.7% to £4.4m, while underlying profit before tax remained the same as the previous year at £4.2m. Underlying EBITDA grew 0.8% to £13.1m.
The company also refinanced its bank debt on improved terms, securing a new £15m term loan facility and a £30m revolving credit facility. Combined with existing £55m private placement funding, this brings total available facilities to £100m.
Retail division
Divisional revenue in the retail pubs was up 0.1% to £42.3m, while divisional underlying operating profit rose 5.8% to £5.8m.
Retail like-for-like sales inside the M25 were up 11.2% and up 1.4% outside the M25, compared to 9% and 1.4% in H1 2025 respectively.
During the Christmas period – the five weeks to 3 January – LFL retail sales were up 8.1%.
Retail LFL drink sales were up 5.6%, while food sales were up 4.3% vs H1 2025.
Meanwhile, occupancy was down at 70.2%, compared to 74.6% the previous year. Revenue per available room dipped from £94 to £91.
Tenanted division
Divisional revenue in tenanted pubs increased 4.8% to £19m, while divisional underlying operating profit declined from £6.6m to £6.4m.
Brewing and brands
Divisional revenue was down 4.7% to £22.7m and divisional underlying operating profit down from £0.6m to £0.3m.
More recently, LFL tenanted pub income increase 3% in the 35 weeks to 28 February.
Retail LFL sales are up 4.4% in the 37 weeks to 14 March, while total beer volume is down 6.7% for the same period.
Shepherd Neame CEO Jonathan Neame said: “Demand has remained resilient, with a further exceptional performance from our London pubs, and a good trading performance in our Tenanted estate.
“Our strong pub trading and some easing of cost pressures gives us cause for optimism going forward, but some caution is naturally warranted given the situation in the Middle East.”
- This story originally appeared in The Morning Advertiser’s sister publication MCA here.
