Pub group Fuller’s cheers weddings and tourism recovery

The boss of pub group Fuller’s has said a “backlog of weddings” and rebounding tourism will put it on track for a strong summer despite concerns over consumer confidence.

Shares in the company, which runs 385 pubs and hotels, improved on Thursday morning after it toasted a return to profit and hailed a recent rise in sales.

It struck a positive note for the hospitality sector after rivals Marston’s and Mitchells & Butlers posted profit warnings last month.

Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny told the PA news agency that delayed events from the past two years due to Covid-19 have put the company in a strong position for the summer.

“There has been a significant backlog of weddings waiting to take place so at the moment that is extremely strong for us, even in the City of London,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to see sporting events back and busy over the summer, and another big thing is the huge number of concerts taking place too.

“Things like that have definitely helped contribute to a really strong performance for sites with rooms.

“Over the bank holiday weekend, all our rooms in London were full and, as a whole, our accommodation sales for the first 10 weeks of the year have been fantastic.”

Fuller’s said sales have increased by 4% over the past 10 weeks since the end of March, compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Nevertheless, the company highlighted that market condition are challenging amid “fragile” consumer confidence due to rampant inflation.

Mr Emeny also warned that the group is “not where we would like to be” with staffing, as it continues to face industry-wide recruitment issues.

“Demand from customers is still strong but, from a staffing point of view, we have about 90% of positions filled,” he said.

“We still need more staff but we are in a similar position, if not better, than everyone else in the industry.”

It came as the company swung back to an adjusted pre-tax profit of £7.2 million for the year to March, compared with a £48.7 million loss in the previous year.

Overall revenues soared to £253.8 million for the year, compared with £73.2 million in the previous year, when it had been particularly hammered by pandemic restrictions.

Shares in Fuller’s moved 0.7% higher to 574.1p in early trading on Thursday.