Punch Taverns, the managed and leased operator of over 9,300 pubs, has reported that trading has remained steady and in line with expectations since the start of its financial year on 20 August 2006.
The company said that like-for-like sales growth in its leased estate continues at around 1% with an increasing component from rent, while like-for-like sales growth across its managed estate has been around 5%, with a growing emphasis on food.
It also said that Christmas sales overall were in line with recent trends.
Giles Thorley, chief executive, said: “This has been a period of continued progress for Punch on all fronts. Our pubs are trading well in a quiet market and we have continued to improve the quality of our estate through conversions, acquisitions and investment.”
The group has announced that after four years as chairman Phil Cox is retiring and will be replaced by Peter Cawdron, who first joined the company’s board in May 2003. It also said that Martin Glenn was also retiring from its board.
The company also announced that Andrew Knight, managing director of Spirit, its managed pub division, joins the board as executive director, while Phil Dutton, until recently finance director at Matalan, joins as a non-executive director.
The group said that in the first 20 weeks of its financial year to 6 January, it acquired 125 pubs and sold 56, taking its overall estate to 9,325. Acquisitions included Mill House Inns, a company owning 82 high quality directly managed pubs which was acquired in September for £164m.
Punch said its transfer to lease programme is progressing well and it has now converted 301 managed pubs from Spirit to leased.
It said it continues to invest in pub amenities and customer
service to ensure its pubs are ready when the smoking ban is introduced in England and Wales later this year.
In a separate announcement, Punch has appointed Morgan Stanley & Co. International as both its financial adviser and joint broker alongside Merrill Lynch.
Morgan Stanley’s appointment is in replacement of Citigroup.
