Turnover up, but profits down at Brakspear

The parent company of Henley-based pub operator Brakspear has reported an increase in turnover for the year ending 31 December 2023.

Revenue was up 9% to £38.6m at JT Davies & Sons Holdings Limited, compared to £35.4m for 2022.

Underlying EBITDA was reported as £10.9m, slightly lower than 2022's £11.2m, when the company benefitted from a business interruption claim amounting to £700,000.

"Our business performed very well in 2023, with a high level of stability across our leased and tenanted estate and our Honeycomb Houses managed business driving the organic sales growth," says Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies (pictured).

"While I am generally happy with our profitability levels, our profit conversion has reduced because of the well documented cost pressures which affected our customers and directly impacted the operation of our pubs."

Adjusted profit before tax (adjusted for property revaluations and disposals) was unchanged at £7.2m.

Brakspear's net debt reduced by 22% to £17m following bank debt repayments during the year amounting to £3.8m and an increase of £1.2m in cash reserves at year end.

Pub investments

During the year, Brakspear continued to invest in its estate with £5.3m of capital and operating expenditure directed towards its pubs.

This included the £1.8m redevelopment of The White Bear in Warlingham, Surrey, which reopened in January 2024 as the company's 10th Honeycomb Houses site. 

The pub operator also invested £800,000 in The Leicester Arms, a tenanted pub in Penshurst, Kent, run by the Little & Large Pub Company, which won the 2023 National Pub & Bar Awards with The Running Horses in Mickleham, another Brakspear site. 

Brakspear has around 110 leased and tenanted pubs, and a further 10 in its managed division, Honeycomb Houses. Most of its pubs are based in the south east, with an estate stretching from Dover and the south coast up to the Cotswolds. 

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