Heineken UK to invest £39m upgrading and reopening pubs as it aims to attract broader customer range: Heineken UK is investing £39m in upgrading and reopening pubs in its Star Pubs’ estate in 2024 as it aims to attract a broader customer range. The company said the move demonstrates its confidence in the resilience of the great British local in the face of global uncertainty and will create an estimated 1,075 jobs. A quarter (612) of Heineken UK’s 2,400 pubs, 180 of which are managed, are in line for improvement, with 94 of these set for makeovers costing on average £200,000. The investment will also cover works to reopen 62 long-term closed locals in 2024. By the end of the year, Heineken UK will have reopened 156 such pubs since the start of 2023, reducing the number of closed pubs in its estate to pre-pandemic levels – around 4.5% of its total estate. The company said with working from home more commonplace and people looking to save on travel, major refurbishments will concentrate on transforming tired pubs in suburban areas into premium locals. Property director Chris Moore told Propel that the investment was being made in sites across England and Wales and being done on a “pub by pub basis” He said: “In each case we’ve looked at the pub, the local market, the type of experience customers are looking for and what is already available in the area.” Moore added customers are now coming out more in the early evening while lunchtime trade has been strong for many of its licensees. Subtle zoning will signpost pubgoers to the area likely to suit them best, enabling different groups of customers to simultaneously enjoy a variety of activities – from watching sports to dining – without disturbing each other. Dividing screens and distinct changes to lighting, sound systems and furniture styles will help delineate the zones. Other common changes will include overhauling cellars with state-of-the-art dispense equipment and repositioning tills to speed up service. Furthering progress against Heineken UK’s ambition to be net zero across its entire value chain by 2040, substantial projects will feature energy efficiency measures, such as heating controls, insulation and low-energy lighting, that will typically cost £12,500 per pub and cut energy use by 15%. Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs’ managing director, said: “People are looking for maximum value from visits to their local. They want great surroundings and food and drink as well as activities that give them an extra reason to go out, such as sports screenings and entertainment. Creating fantastic locals that can accommodate a range of occasions meets this need and helps pubs fulfil their role as vital third spaces where communities can come together. Pubs have proved their enduring appeal; after all the disruption of recent years, Star is on track to have the lowest number of closed pubs since 2019. It’s a tribute to the drive and entrepreneurship of licensees and the importance of continued investment. We’ve spent more than £200m upgrading and maintaining our pubs over the last five years, and we’ll continue to invest to keep them open and thriving. Time and again we see the value consumers place on having a good local and how important it is to communities. Well-invested pubs run by great licensees are here to stay, but like all locals, they need government support to reduce the enormous tax burden they shoulder.” Propel is staging the Excellence in Pub & Bar Retailing Conference on Tuesday, 14 May. The all-day conference, one theme of which is about how the pub sector is attracting a broader range of customers, takes place at One Moorgate Place in London and this week is the last chance to book. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Tickets are £295 plus VAT for operators and £395 plus VAT for suppliers. There is a 20% discount for operators and suppliers who are Premium Club members. Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to book places.

Tenpin reports record sales of £135.3m, acquires remaining stake in escape rooms JV for £1.3m: Tenpin, which was taken private by US private equity firm Trive for circa 300m earlier this year, has reported turnover increased to a record £135,332,000 for the year ending 31 December 2023 compared with £126,673,000 the previous year. Like-for-like sales were up 3.4% in the period. The group, which operated 53 sites at the end of the period, saw pre-tax profit fall to £28,555,000 from £33,995,000 the year before. Total administrative costs were up £0.5m to £52.7m. Exceptional costs of £1.3m were incurred relating to legal and professional fees arising from acquisition work carried out by the group. Ebitda per centre stood at £0.82m (2022: £0.83m). Revenue per head hit a record £16.08 while footfall, measured by the unique bowling sessions played, was also a record, at 8.8 million. Gross profit margin was down to 66,7% from 67.7% the year before due to inflationary cost increases to food and beverage products with the costs not being fully passed on to customers and an increase in food and beverage sales as well as machine sales, which incur lower margins than bowling sales. The group said it expects margin to continue to fall slightly over time “as the business continues to prove the success of our non-bowling products as laser, karaoke and gaming machine offerings, but are confident that gross profit in absolute cash terms will continue to grow as the group continues to invest and refurbish the estate”. In March 2024, Tenpin acquired the remaining 50% stake of its joint venture with escape room company Houdini's for £1.3m. At the end of FY23, Houdini's had 61 rooms open of which 50 were operated out of 18 Tenpin centres. In his report accompanying the accounts, chief financial officer Antony Smith stated: “In the first half of FY23, total sales growth had slowed to 3.3% compared with FY22 and like-for-like sales growth was 1.6% compared with 19.0% in the first half of FY22. This represents the consolidation of the strong gains made since covid, and like­for-like sales in the first half of this period have remained a very strong 46.3% compared with 2019 first-half pre-pandemic levels. Since the half year, like-for-like sales growth improved, particularly thanks to a strong summer holiday period, to 5.2% for the second half of the year. During 2023, the group opened four new centres in Crewe, Milton Keynes, Dundee and Sheffield and acquired a centre in Glenrothes. These sites are all trading well and delivering in line with or ahead of expectations. The group has also undertaken nine major refurbishments. The sales growth from like-for-like centres and the newly opened centres has continued to be delivered with minimal customer price increases.” Tenpin features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the latest edition of which will be sent exclusively to Premium Club members on Friday (10 May). Tenpin’s turnover of £135,332,000 is the 78th 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.