Kentish Express Ashford & District
Tourism leader given doctorate
A tourism l e a d e r has been honoured for her achievements in a 25-year career.
Sandra Matthews-Marsh, the chief executive for Visit Kent and Go to Places, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Canterbury Christ Church University.
Her award was bestowed at Canterbury Cathedral on Tuesday, September 12 alongside award winning documentary maker Kate Blewett and children’s TV star ‘Mister Maker’ Phil Gallagher.
She said: “I am privileged not only to have made my career in such a dynamic, creative, varied industry as tourism, but also to work alongside an incredibly supportive, talented and loyal team, which is why this award is for the entire Visit Kent team in recognition of the work we do together.”
She thanked her colleagues for the work they do to promote Kent for the 60 million visitors it attracts each year. Last year’s long hot summer and a sunny spring helped beer and pub company Shepherd Neame to a “good year”, its latest annual results show.
The oldest brewer in Britain, founded in 1698, increased underlying pre-tax profits by 8% to £11.2 million and boosted revenues by 12% to £156.2 million.
The Faversham-based beer maker said this had been helped by spending £10.7 million on renovating its pubs, as well as the acquisition of 14 pubs throughout the year.
Its has rewarded shareholders with a 3% boost to their dividend to 28.35p.
The firm sold 259,000 barrels of beer in the year to June 24, equiv- alent to 74.5 million pints.
The majority of these sales were made in the UK although the company also exports to more than 35 countries.
The business has a total of 327 pubs, down one on last year, and bosses said the firm is in a good position to weather economic headwinds from Brexit and rising inflation.
Chairman Miles Templeton said: “While the performance has been good, the short-term horizon is clouded by the inflationary pressures on the business, and the medium-term horizon by the uncertainty over the UK’s exit from the European Union.
“Shepherd Neame is, as has been demonstrated over the years, a resilient and flexible business capable of rapidly adjusting to and succeeding in an ever-changing world.”
Pre-tax profits were down 18%