Admiral Taverns sees profits down by a third

Admiral Taverns has achieved an underlying operating profit of £11.1m, down from £17.2m in 2019, for the 52 weeks to 30 May 2020.

Turnover stood at £64.7m, while underlying profit was £0.4m for the period, compared with £6.2m in 2019.

The first lockdown in March last year led to “an almost complete loss of income” for the group leading up to the end of the accounting period, however Admiral said it had made good progress against strategic targets until this point and had traded in line with management’s expectations.

During the year the group acquired 287 pubs over two transactions in October and November 2019, and launched its new operator managed division called Oasis Pubs, pushing its estate numbers to 1,032 pubs by the end of the accounting period.

Admiral also invested more than £11m over the period in the refurbishment of its sites.

It said the strong performance of its pubs in between periods of lockdown had demonstrated the resilience of the group’s community wet-led model.

Chief executive Chris Jowsey said: “Admiral Taverns made significant strategic progress in the last financial year delivering an underlying profit of £11.1m despite the huge impact of Covid-19 pandemic, which fell in the final quarter.

“From the onset of the pandemic we have worked hard to ensure our licensees received the support needed to emerge from the crisis energised, motivated, and not weighed down by debt. As consumer macro trends for ‘localism’ and authenticity grow ever stronger, the Group remains well placed to succeed with its strategic plans for long-term growth, once the UK’s pathway out of the pandemic is firmly established.”