Retailer and brewer Wells & Co, which is nearing its 150th anniversary, has reported impressive growth in the year to 1st October, 2023.
Wells & Co’s Brewpoint venue in Bedford
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) experienced a significant increase, rising by £800,000 from £8.7 million in 2022 to £9.5 million in 2023.
In a year of continued challenge for the hospitality sector, Wells & Co’s upturn was delivered through considered cost control and a focus on consolidating capital investments made the previous year. This drove sales across the group to £62.3m, up £7m year on year.
Wells & Co’s Pub Parter estate of 130 leased and tenanted pubs helpedto increase total revenue by 6%. Meanwhile, its UK managed pubs delivered a sales increase of more than £3m across the estate, with revenue from accommodation increasing by 25%.
“I have been delighted to see this growth being delivered from these two critical divisions of the business,” said Wells & Co’s group chief executive, Peter Wells. “The improvement from our Pub Partners in particular shows their resilience and dynamism, with sales gradually returning to a semblance of normality during the post-pandemic recovery.
“However, we are still acutely aware of the cost pressures that the whole industry continues to face, and the constant challenge to convert sales into profit. In response to this, we are doing as much as possible to provide support and offset cost increases.
“Just a few ways we’ve done this include holding the cost of our own-brewed beer range, introducing utility saving measures in cellars as well as implementing voltage optimisation equipment, where possible installing electric car charging points to encourage increased dwell time, and lastly providing more resources to help with sales building plans.”
In addition to the growth achieved in the UK pubs, the company’s French estate of 16 managed pubs also witnessed a substantial surge in sales, contributing £2.2m.
Primarily this was due to the success of France’s national team during the football World Cup at the beginning of the year and the rugby World Cup at the end. To cap off the calendar year, Wells & Co added two more pubs to its French estate in December, welcoming the House of Parliament and HMS Victory in Bordeaux to the group. There are plans for further site acquisitions in summer 2024.
