At the Young’s Annual General Meeting on 8 July, Nick Bryan, Chairman of Young & Co.’s Brewery, P.L.C., made the following statement about current trading:
“As indicated at the time of our preliminary results in May, trading in the current year has started strongly. Managed house sales for the first thirteen weeks were up 8.3% in total compared with the equivalent period last year, and up 7.3% on a like-for-like basis.
“With the quality of our managed estate, a strengthened tenanted business, and our robust balance sheet, we have a very strong platform from which to continue to grow, both organically and through acquisition. In recent weeks, we have bought the iconic Fox & Anchor in London’s Smithfield Market and have exchanged contracts on two more sites in partnership with Berkeley Homes, one in their Riverlight development in Nine Elms and another one in the Woolwich Arsenal. We continue to actively pursue other opportunities.
“There is clear evidence that consumer confidence is growing but political uncertainty and global risks remain, and therefore we must retain a degree of caution. However, as a result of the consistently high level of investment in our estate, combined with the hard work put in by our teams across the group, we have every reason to believe that the current year will be another positive one for Young’s.”