Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Marston’s CEO – H1 a period of significant momentum, lfl sales up 2.9%: Justin Platt, chief executive of Marston’s, has said the company’s first half has been “a period of significant momentum” for the business, as it posted like-for-like sales up 2.9% in the 31 weeks to 3 May, with strong growth of 10.5% in the five weeks since the period end of 29 March. The company, which operates 1,333 pubs, said that like-for-likes sales grew by 1.3% in the 26 weeks to 29 March 2025 reflecting timing of Easter and Mother’s Day, which fell in H1 in 2024 and in H2 2025. Total H1 revenue stood at £427.4m (H1 2024: £428.1m), which the company said was despite circa £50m of disposals in FY2024, “demonstrating the strength of the core estate”. Underlying pub operating profit increased by 20.1% to £63.3m during the half year (H1 2024: £52.7m), underpinned by “strong operational delivery and strategic cost-saving measures”. The company said that Ebitda margin expanded by approximately 250bps supported by data and technology-led improvements in labour deployment and procurement efficiency. Underlying pre-tax profit stood at £19m (H1 2024: £0.2m loss), driven by “robust revenue performance and operational discipline”. The business said it saw strong trading across key occasions – including Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Easter – alongside the continued rollout of strategic initiatives with a strong pipeline of demand driving events, such as Trivial Pursuit ‘Win a Wedge’, which it said “reinforces confidence in encouraging H2 outlook”. It said that capex is expected to total circa £60m for FY2025, and that it was confident in delivering recurring free cash flow of over £50m a year in the near-to-medium term, supporting further investment and deleveraging. The company said it is on track to deliver targets outlined at its October 2024 Capital Markets Day, with FY2025 performance expected to be in line with current market expectations. Platt said: “The first half has been a period of significant momentum for Marston’s, with the execution of a market leading pub operating model, investment in our differentiated pub formats and progress in our digital transformation driving strong margin and profit growth. Through our impactful calendar of demand-driving events and the dedication of our passionate, local teams, we continue to deliver great guest experiences every day, powering our industry-leading guest reputation scores. With strong recent trading across our nationwide estate of great local pubs, we are excited for the summer months ahead. We remain confident in achieving our financial goals for the full year and focused on executing our strategy as a pure play hospitality company to deliver sustainable growth and increasing returns for our shareholders.” The company said it plans to deliver 30 new site launches in FY2025, with 18 completed in H1, all delivered on-time and within budget. It said that these pubs are “trading well and receiving strong guest feedback reinforcing both the appeal of our tailored formats and quality of execution”. It said: “The Two-Door format – designed to appeal to both regular drinkers and family diners by providing two distinct and separated environments under one roof – has delivered very encouraging early results. Following successful pilots in FY2024, it has been a key focus of the FY2025 rollout and further expansion is planned for H2.” The company’s new Order & Pay platform, which launched in March 2025, is now live across more than 750 pubs, with full estate coverage expected by the end of the financial year. It said that initial results have been “extremely encouraging”. The platform supports upselling and premiumisation and already the company is seeing over 10% uplift in revenue per transaction.

Premium Club subscribers to receive next UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database on Friday: Premium Club subscribers will receive the next UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database on Friday (16 May), at 12pm. The new database will feature ten new entries, for a total of 350 companies either franchising in the UK or looking to franchise here. The new entries include Comebuytea, a chain of bubble tea restaurants funded in Taiwan in 2002, which exhibited at last month’s International Franchise Show at London’s ExCel, as it seeks partners with which to expand to the UK. The new entries also include Spud Bros, a London gourmet jacket potato business with roots in 1950s Lancashire, which has partnered with Seeds Consulting to find the right partners to expand with. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, the New Openings Database, theTurnover & Profits Blue Book, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who's Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Operational Excellence Conference next month and discounts on specialist sector reports. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club subscribers will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club subscribers also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Immigration reforms risk harming economy, businesses warn: The government’s immigration reforms will damage the economy if they are not accompanied by an urgent overhaul of the country’s “fundamentally flawed” approach to training, business groups have warned. The Institute of Directors told The Times Sir Keir Starmer’s “comprehensive plan” to reduce immigration significantly would raise further concerns “for the many employers already struggling to access the skills they need”. Alex Hall-Chen, principal policy adviser for skills and employment at the group, said the plans set out by the prime minister on Monday “risk damaging already fragile economic growth by further limiting employers’ ability to fill urgent skills gaps”. She said: “For this strategy to work, government must deliver on its pledge to more effectively link the skills and immigration systems and incentivise employers to invest in training programmes for the domestic workforce.” Migrants coming to the UK on all forms of visas will face restrictions under plans to give the government more control over migrant numbers and Starmer said it was a promise that migration will fall. Stephen Phipson, chief executive of the industrial trade group Make UK, said it was essential that the government “recognises that manufacturers only seek overseas staff because the domestic skills training system is fundamentally flawed”. He said the apprenticeship levy, a payroll levy on large employers intended to fund training and created by the previous government, had been disastrous, making it harder for companies to access training. He said the government’s forthcoming industrial strategy had to provide a “clear plan for technical skills and the recognition that, in the face of a crisis, the response must be significant, structural and fast”. The CBI has expressed concerns that further restrictions on student visas will put more pressure on university finances and add to the perception that hiring immigrants is a lazy or cheap route for employers to access labour. “The reality for businesses is that it is more expensive and difficult to fill a vacancy with immigration than if they could hire locally or train workers,” Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, said.

McDonald’s plans to hire 375,000 US workers this summer: McDonald’s plans to hire up to 375,000 US restaurant employees this summer, its biggest hiring push in years. The company said the openings are partly due to its expansion plans. The company, which has more than 13,500 restaurants in the US, plans to open 900 more by 2027. McDonald’s said its last big summer hiring spree came in 2020, when it announced plans to add 260,000 workers. At the time, the company was reopening restaurants that were closed in the first months of the covid-19 pandemic. Its decision to staff up for this summer signals optimism that US restaurant traffic will improve as the year unfolds. McDonald’s estimates that about one in eight Americans have worked for the chain. More than 90,000 have gone through the Archways to Opportunity program, which offers assistance with college tuition and other types of training, since it launched ten years ago.

Big Mamma to make north west debut next month: Big Mamma Group, which is backed by McWin, will open its first restaurant in the North of England, in Manchester, next month (6 June). The company’s second Circolo Popolare in the UK, will open in Gary Neville’s Relentless Developments’ St Michael’s scheme in the city’s Jackson Row. The two-floor trattoria will feature a “vibrant, overgrown courtyard-inspired space downstairs, perfect for lively celebrations, while upstairs offers an intimate setting with cosy alcoves and an open kitchen”. At the helm will be Campanian-born head chef Alfonso Esposito, who has been with Big Mamma for two years. Big Mamma co-founders Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux said: “Our ten-year Big Mamma adventure has continued to surprise and challenge us, and we couldn’t think of a better restaurant that encapsulates everything we strive for than the joyful and atmospheric Circolo Popolare, in the vibrant community-driven city of Manchester. Having visited Manchester multiple times to find this unique spot, we have both been bowled over by the sheer plethora of hospitality talent within the city. We are hugely excited to be even a small part of this, and to bring our superb Italian products we spent three years personally sourcing to another major European city.” Last month, Propel reported that the business plans to open four new UK sites in 2025 as it reported turnover increased to a record £44,276,559 for the year ending 31 December 2024 compared with £40,894,782 the previous year. It is set to open its sixth and seventh sites in London. The company has submitted plans to turn part of the ground floor of the former Scottish Provident building at 1-6 Lombard Street in the City into a new restaurant. Meanwhile, the group has confirmed its upcoming site in Canary Wharf will be called Barbarella and is going to be a retro-inspired self-styled “wild and jungle-themed city pad”.