McMullen’s posts record FY sales with managed lfls up 6%: Brewer and retailer McMullen’s has posted record sales for the year ending 28 September 2024 driven by performance in its managed pubs where turnover was up 8.1% to £115m. The company, which currently operates 40 tenanted sites and 90 managed pubs, said like-for-like sales were up 6% in the year. Comparably (no investment for at least one full financial year) wet sales were up 4.2%, food up 6.4% and accommodation up 18.6%. It said that underlying pre-tax profit for the year was also a record (unadjusted for inflation), finally exceeding 2019 figures – up 34.4% to £16.4m. During the financial year the company acquired three new sites in London and, earlier this year three sites from Oakman Inns and a further site in London. Joint managing director Tom McMullen said: “It is pleasing to be able to report a substantial improvement on last year and a measure of success over a particularly challenging five years. We are still working toward growing our 2019 underlying pre-tax profit in real terms with record levels of investment over intervening years and, so far, are seeing real progress in the current year. The immediate challenge is to shake off the steady number of intentional and unintentional blows to our business from the government, both from this April and pending, and face these with the same determination that has allowed us to survive and grow over 198 years. Fortunately, we have the resource to do so.” The company said it continues to “substantially invest” in retail technology to enhance the guest experience and drive demand and to improve team engagement and productivity. Team numbers have also reached a record high while team turnover ended the year at 62.2% – the lowest recorded to date and year-to-date for this financial year, have fallen further to just 55%. Heydon Mizon, joint managing director, said: “Despite the challenging economic environment, the McMullen’s team has once again demonstrated resilience and excellence, delivering growth across financial, people, and guest metrics. Pub acquisitions and investments have been well landed by the modest sized central team and our mature pubs have continued to grow and keep ahead of some bitter cost inflation which is now imbedded. To maximise our historical and diverse pub estate’s potential, we operate nine internal concept brands, which greatly increases workload for the team. With all this in mind, they can be proud of their continued achievements for last year and the year we are currently trading.” The company said it has several exciting new projects lined up including the proposed conversion of a former mill building on the river Wey in Guildford, and optimising the potential of the Anchor in Hullbridge. The Duke of York in Fitzrovia will be opening in June. The business said it continues to look for further acquisition opportunities and improve the quality of its estate – and there are two other sites, one a trading business and the other an office conversion, that are currently in legals. In its managed division, it said that top line performance came from a pleasingly wide range of pubs – at one end of the scale, the big London sites driven by recent investment spends; at the other end, small community sites where sales were driven by engaged teams capturing more sales with a consistent and valued offer. It said: “By way of example, the Old Bank of England grew sales by over 30% and the Old Anchor, a community pub in Cheshunt, by over 40%. Turnover was also driven by investments and acquisitions last year, including the Salisbury, Princess Charlotte, Saint & Sinner and Fisherman. This year the acquisition of the Lock Tavern and investments such as the Three Horseshoes and Crocodile also contributed strongly. Total Wet at £66m and Total Food at £44m and were both up over 7% and, on a comparable basis, were up 4.2% and 6.4% respectively. However, it should be noted that, as required price increases inevitably impacted demand, there has been a decline in food covers in a material number of houses, with comparable covers declining by 1.4%. Destination and Chicken & Grill pubs were particularly affected.” It said that labour as a percentage of sales before Brexit and covid was 29.5% but has now risen to 33.4%. It said: “With our sales at £115m, this represents a £4.5m movement of profitability to salaries. In an ideal world team wages continue to grow, at least in pace with inflation, with productivity improvements providing a mutually beneficial outcome. While the group pays above National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage (whichever is applicable dependent on age) these government determined rates are a benchmark for our tight rungs of salaries and, with the 6. 7% increase to NLW in April 2025 and a 16.3% increase in relation to the 18-20 year old NMW, work in this area will continue to be a priority.” Beer volumes in its tenancy division increased by 2.7% in total during the year and by 6.6% at the 30 comparable pubs in the tenanted estate. Total Wet Income, after both central and discretionary discounts, was up 10.3% over last year. And 80% of comparable pubs were in wholesale margin growth over last year.

Sessions launches partnership Mikos Gyros: Sessions, the growth platform for original food brands, has added Greek concept Mikos Gyros to its portfolio, responding to the fast-rising consumer appetite for Mediterranean cuisine. Mikos Gyros joins Sessions’ diverse portfolio alongside SoBe Burger and Little Bao Boy. Mikos Gyros will launch in 11 locations next week, including Coventry, Plymouth, Reigate and Nottingham, before scaling across Sessions’ network of 300-plus delivery kitchens later in the year. The menu will be available to order on Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat. “Our platform is built to move fast and deliver what modern consumers are hungry for,” said Dan Warne, founder at Sessions. “Greek food is at the forefront of emerging food trends and we’re making sure it’s available, scalable, and on-demand in major cities and underserved markets. Mikos Gyros has already established a strong customer base in London and Sessions has the kitchen network, expertise and technology to help them expand across the country.” Hugo Ushida, founder of Mikos Gyros, said: “Partnering with Sessions allows us to bring our authentic Greek flavours to communities across the UK who previously couldn’t access them. Their platform and expertise gives us the technology and network to scale while maintaining the quality our London customers love.” Mikos Gyros currently operates five locations across the capital. In 2024, the brand launched their branded line of retail products, bringing its signature gyros seasoning, sauces, wrap kits and pitas to 50 independent stockists across the country. The new partnership with Sessions represents the first time that their menu will be widely available nationwide on delivery platforms.