UK: Brewer Young & Co announces a 18% rise in profits after brewery sale

Brewer Young & Co toasted an 18% rise in profits after a year of change following the sale of Britain's oldest brewing site, Western Mail reported June 4.

Young's posted underlying pre-tax profits of pounds 12m for the year to March 31 as the firm said it had reaped the benefits of the company's transformation.

The company sold its Ram Brewery - the historic Wandsworth, south London site where beer has been brewed since 1581 - for pounds 69m and entered a brewing joint venture with Charles Wells, which brews Bombardier bitter.

Chief executive Stephen Goodyear said, "The sale was to improve scale and our routes to the market. The Ram site was small and it needed a lot of investment, and we are a plc and we have got to perform."

The joint venture with Wells and its acquisition of Courage's ale brands from Scottish & Newcastle in January also leaves Wells & Young's as one of the UK's leading cask ale producers.

Mr Goodyear added that the sale had allowed the company to spend pounds 46m in total on buying and refurbishing its pub estate, which now stands at 216 outlets.

The company said that trading in the first eight weeks of the current year had been strong, with like-for-like sales ahead nearly 10%.

The firm said it was confident, despite pressures such as England's smoking ban, which comes into force on July 1, and fears over consumer spending.

Around 25% of its 114-strong managed pubs are already trading as non-smoking pubs.

Mr Goodyear said, "We are lucky in that only 12% of the estate does not have outside space. There will be some customer reaction although I think we are better prepared than most."

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