UK's Marston's sales rise 4%, boosted by holiday footfall (updated)
28/01/2026 07:34
Corrects paragraph 1 to say 4% rise in sales was for the festive period, not for the 17-week period ended January 24 Jan 28 (Reuters) - British pub group Marston's MARS.L on Wednesday reported a 4% rise in like-for-like sales for the festive period, helped by strong footfall, and said it was confident of meeting full-year consensus expectations. The strong sales come as the sector faces an increase in costs from payroll, property taxes, and wages, and Marston's has been controlling costs and upgrading its pubs and menus to attract footfall and retain profitability. On Tuesday, the British government announced a support package for pubs and live music venues in England, providing some relief from the property tax rises announced last year, which left the hospitality industry reeling. Marston's CEO Justin Platt said in a statement that the company’s pubs had a strong start to the year, following a record-breaking performance on Christmas Day. Analysts on average expect an annual underlying pretax profit of 78.7 million pounds ($108.76 million), according to a company-compiled consensus. ($1 = 0.7236 pounds) (Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((NithyashreeRB@thomsonreuters.com;))