Drinks sales drive M&B performance
A 4% increase in drink sales drove a rise in like-for-like sales in the eight weeks to 21 September.
Meanwhile, growth of food sales slowed to 2.1%.
The pub company oversees dining brands Toby Carvery, Harvester and Miller & Carter, in addition to bar chain All Bar One.
Overall, like-for-like sales increased by 3.3% in the eight-week period, the pubco revealed in a trading statement.
The pub company has recovered from taking a hit on like-for-like sales earlier this year, when it faced difficulty beating positive drinks sales from the football World Cup and warm weather of last summer.
Total like-for-like sales at M&B venues saw a hike of 3.6%, across a 51-week period ending 21 September 2019.
Momentum for future
M&B chief executive Phil Urban said the company would continue to push forward with its business strategy ‘Ignite’ and was confident about the next financial year.
He said: “Sales growth has remained consistently ahead of the market and we carry this momentum forward into the new financial year.
“We remain confident of the impact of our Ignite initiatives, which will be continually reviewed and refreshed as the business moves forward.”
The company also stated it had opened seven new sites and carried out 239 conversions and remodels in the present financial year, with a focus on premium sites.
