Marston’s has announced its like-for-like sales for the half year to 28 March were down 0.5 percent after closures related to its venue investment campaign impacted takings by £2.2m, however groupwide performance remains “ahead of the market.”

Total revenue for the period fell from £427.4m to £422.7m during the period as the company pushed ahead with the renovation of 60 pubs, with softer midweek trading offset by “record” Christmas and Easter sales, up 5.3 percent.

“We have made excellent strategic progress in the first half, delivering a strong profit performance underpinned by further margin expansion,” said CEO Justin Platt. “Our disciplined operating model continues to drive efficiencies across the business, while enabling our hard-working local pub teams to focus on delivering great experiences for our guests every day.” 

And the prospects are looking good for the new-look pubs in the estate.

“Our pub investment strategy is performing particularly well, with 60 new pub formats launched during the year, significantly ahead of our original target. These new format pubs are proving incredibly popular with guests while delivering very attractive commercial returns.”

Platt added that the reformatted pubs are delivering average ROIC of 35 percent alongside like-for-like growth of 20 percent, with the company targeting a total of 100 refurbished venues during the first half of 2027.

“We are encouraged by the outlook for H2 and remain on track to deliver full‑year market expectations.”