Young's swings to loss as Covid-related closures dent revenues

Young & Co said on Thursday that it swung to a loss in 2020 after its pubs and hotels were closed for nearly nine months of the year due to Covid restrictions, but it expects trading to be back to be pre-pandemic levels by the end of June.

In its preliminary results for the year to 29 March 2021, the company said it swung to a pre-tax loss of £45.2m from a profit of £29.1m the year before as revenues slumped to £90.6m from £311.6m.

Still, the pub chain said outdoor trading in the 144 pubs that were able to open on 12 April has been encouraging, achieving 85% of normal trade over a five-week period. It opened all of its remaining pubs this week.

Chief executive Patrick Dardis said: "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. 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."

On Thursday, Young’s confirmed that Savills has been appointed in connection with a possible sale of the tenanted estate. The company was responding to media speculation after Sky News reported that Young’s had asked Savills to offload about 50 tenanted pubs.