Wed 19th Jun 2024 - Thwaites in ‘very strong position’ as it reports full-year turnover up to £115.5m Thwaites in ‘very strong position’ as it reports full-year turnover up to £115.5m: North west brewer and retailer Daniel Thwaites has said it is a “very strong position” as it reported a “robust” performance for the year ending 31 March 2024. Group turnover was up 6% to £115.5m (2023: £108.8m). Pre-tax profit, which benefited from a mark to market gain on interest rate swaps, was £9.1m (2023: £15.1m). Ebitda stood at £18.0m (2023: £19.1m). The company stated: “The company has grown and turned in a robust performance during a period of high-cost inflation and economic uncertainty. The market positioning of its managed properties towards more premium segments and the resilience of its tenanted community pubs, together with its freehold property model has prevailed. A lot of focus this year has been directed towards the development of Langdale Chase Hotel in the Lake District, which was shut for the key trading period and was a drag to performance this year. However, we are pleased with the development that we have undertaken and it is now open, trading profitably and contributing to our overall results. We look forward to it making a meaningful contribution in the coming years. The pubs are trading well and whilst we have more closed than we would like, our disposal programme has slowed considerably, and we are positive about their future prospects We have prospective operators identified and signed up to continue reopening many of our closures over the next few months. We have a strong development pipeline right across the business, but are not looking to significantly increase our debt levels. If anything, we would like to reduce them slightly so that when opportunities arise to make acquisitions, we are in a strong position to do so. There is plenty of opportunity within the business to grow our profitability without acquisitions and we are wholly focused on delivering that this coming year.” The pubs and inns division, which consisted of 204 tenanted and 14 managed sites, saw turnover rise to £63.0m (2023: £57.7m) with Ebitda at £17.1m (2023: £17.6m). Tenanted pub turnover was up 8%. The number of pubs that needed to be re-let started the year at 21, with nine closed pubs, and finished the year at 20, with 11 closed pubs – eight of which were under offer to new tenanted customers. Inns increased sales by 11% on the previous year, with strong growth in drink sales. The ten-strong hotels and spas division saw turnover rise to £52.5m (2023: £51.1m) with Ebitda of £9.1m (2023: £9.3m). The company sold 11 pubs and two ancillary properties with total proceeds of £3.8m (2023: £3.1m). No acquisitions were made. Net debt at 31 March 2024 was £70.8m (2023: £66.7m), as a result of a “larger than normal” investment programme, which totalled £18.3m (2023: £15.6m). Chairman Richard Bailey said: “Factors that have been against us for the last few years, including inflation, a difficult employment market and the cost-of-living crisis are now abating and we are hopeful that the coming year will present a more stable trading environment. This last year has been one of confident investment across every area of the company and that places us in a very strong position to move our performance forward in this current financial year.” Thwaites features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the latest edition of which was sent to Premium Club members on Friday (14 June) and features 926 companies. Thwaites’ turnover of £115.5m is the 94th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.