City Pub Group PLC

("The City Pub Group" or "the Group")

AGM Trading Update

Sales now ahead of 2019 levels

The City Pub Group, the owner and operator of 42 premium pubs across Southern England and Wales and a further two development sites, is pleased to announce that LFL sales have continued to strengthen faster than predicted, with May 2022 5% ahead of May 2019.

Last week's trade - which included the Jubilee Bank Holiday Celebrations - was particularly strong, with LFL sales up in excess of 20% versus 2019. Whilst this is clearly a one-off event, it was great to see customers coming back to our pubs in force. Each pub organised its own activities and events, enhancing the individuality of the Group's estate.

Following the delays caused by the pandemic, we are delighted to have recently opened The Oyster House in Mumbles and The Tivoli in Cambridge. Initial trading is encouraging at both sites.  Two high quality additions to the portfolio, we are confident that in time they will be amongst our top performing assets within the estate. We are also benefitting from investments where we have either refurbished or achieved capacity gains, such as The Hoste and The Cliftonville Hotel.  In addition, our new all-day trading concept in Bury St Edmunds, Damson and Wilde, is expected to open next week. Progress is being made on our remaining development at The Nest in Bath which is anticipated to open in August.

We continue to seek ways of mitigating the increased cost inflation facing the wider sector and have reviewed our cost base with renewed vigour, with particular focus on labour scheduling to maximise sales and efficiency. Control of energy usage and procurement remains a key focus from both  environmental and cost perspectives and we continue to evaluate our menu offering to provide best value and experience for our customers, whilst delivering great food in a cost-effective way for the Group.

Whilst we are mindful of the many economic challenges and cost pressures which currently persist, we now have strong sales momentum across the Group following three months of restriction-free trading and we are keenly focused on ways to increase sales further. An example of this is our focus on promotion of national and local events which are translating into strong forward bookings, underpinning our confidence in a good second half performance. We will also benefit from the flexibility which our low net debt position affords - both in our customer proposition (making the right decisions on price) - and our ability to act decisively and quickly on acquisitions to create value. We remain on track to meet our expectations for the year.

Clive Watson, Executive Chairman of The City Pub Group, said: 

"We continue to see our sales growth reflecting the quality of our pubs and customer offering. With a strong foundation to build on, and momentum that has been created through investment in - and opening of - our development sites, we look forward to an uninterrupted Summer's trading for the first time in two years. Despite the macro economic headwinds, recent openings, tight cost control and a low net debt position leave us well positioned to continue to develop our business both organically and through selective high-quality acquisitions during the rest of the year as opportunities arise."

The City Pub Group is pleased to announce its inclusion in the Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative Album which can now be ordered here: https://stjamess.org/products/the-official-commemorative-album.

8 June 2022