Young's mulls sale of tenanted estate
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the pubco said Savills had been appointed and that it was in discussions regarding a possible sale of its tenanted arm, which comprises just over 50 pubs.
"There can be no certainty, however, that any sale will proceed," it added.
The announcement follows a report on Sky News that said discussions were already underway with prospective bidders.
Young's tenanted arm, which is known as the Ram Pub Company, accounts for 5% of the group's total revenue.
The vast majority of sales are generated by its managed pubs division, which comprises about 200 sites.
This morning (20 May) Young's published its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 29 March 2021, noting that the impact of Covid-19 on trade had been 'significant'.
Total group revenue was down by 70.9% to £90.6m, resulting in an operating loss of £35.1m. Once adjusted for non-underlying items, the operating loss was £34.0m.
Its managed estate saw revenue of £87m, with an adjusted operating loss of £18.6m, while Ram Pub Company reported revenue of £3.3m, with an adjusted operating loss of £0.7m.
Young’s secured additional financing of £88.4m during the period through an equity issue, and £20m through a new bank facility.
The group also continued to invest in its estate, pumping £17m into its managed pubs, which went towards upgrades of its outdoor spaces and the addition of boutique rooms.
Its Burger Shack brand was also relaunched, and rolled out to an additional 10 new sites.
According to Young's, outdoor trading at the 144 pubs that we were able to open on 12 April following the first easing of lockdown restrictions has been encouraging, achieving 85% of normal trade over a 5-week period, and the group is confident of a strong recovery over the summer.
"Despite the many lockdowns and disruption to our business, the financing decisions taken during the summer allowed us to continue to make significant investments in our pubs, with some truly transformational projects," says Patrick Dardis, chief executive of Young's
"We expect to see excellent growth from that investment this year and beyond."
"We are confident with the steps we have taken to ensure Young's continues to be in a position of strength and there is potential for a strong recovery this summer.
"April has started better than planned, with future bookings also looking strong. With this in mind, the board expects the business to get back to pre-covid-19 levels of trade and margins by the end of June, assuming the roadmap, and in particular the 21 June 'freedom day', is not compromised."
