New Covid variant ‘not hitting festive party bookings’

SMALLER NUMBERS INVOLVED, THOUGH, SAYS PUB COMPANY

PUB company and brewer Marston’s has said firms are hanging on to office Christmas party pub bookings despite the new Omicron Covid variant.

Its new chief executive Andrew Andrea said the group has not seen a surge in cancellations this week.

However, he told the London Evening Standard that the firm had noted a trend towards slimmed-down festive gatherings of 10-to-30 employees, rather than pre-covid parties of 50 or 60-plus. Mr Andrea said: “The bookings started late, but they are happening. We are seeing that office parties are being organised, but that employers are being quite responsible.

“We’ve been positively surprised, and we’re still taking enquiries.”

Marston’s is adopting a glass-halffull approach after results that showed an £100 million underlying pre-tax loss for the Covid-hit year to October 2, widened from a £22 million loss a year earlier.

Its 1,500 pubs were only open for 28 weeks of the financial year, with revenues down proportionately to £424m.

However current trading is “exceeding” 2019 levels and the Wolverhampton-based group, which runs a brewery in Burton, said encouraging Christmas bookings were helping it “look to the future with renewed optimism”.

Mr Andrea told the Standard: “I think we’ve managed the pandemic pretty well. Clearly we’re not through this, we’ve got a winter to navigate... but we’re really now taking the view that the worst is behind us.”

Last year Marston’s announced a new joint venture partnership with Carlsberg UK to create a £780 million beer brewing giant in which the pubco holds a 40% stake.

Mr Andrea added: “Whilst there are still some challenges to navigate over the months ahead, we believe the worst of the pandemic is now behind us and Marston’s has emerged a stronger, more focused business which is in great shape. Importantly, consumer demand for the pub and the role which this great British institution plays, at the heart of communities up and down the country, has never been stronger.”