Enterprise Inns profits fall by 22% during “very testing year” for pubs

18th November 2009, 10:45am

National pub company Enterprise Inns has seen pre-tax profits for the financial year (ending 30th September) drop to £208m, a fall of 22% compared with 2008.

The company said in a statement that the last year "has been another very testing year for the pub industry".

Factors contributing to tough trading conditions included rising overhead costs, duty increases ahead of inflation and aggressive pricing from supermarkets, according to Enterprise.

Regionally, the group's pubs present a mixed picture in terms of performance. Average net income is down 11% in the north, 9% in the midlands, 5% in the south and down by only 3% in London.

Ted Tuppen, chief executive, predicts 2010 to be just as tough: "The coming year is expected to be equally challenging and given the current economic climate and the planned reduction in the size of our pub estate, we are likely to see some further decline in trading profit in the short term."

Tuppen added that despite this the group remains focussed on stabilising the performance of the business and reducing levels of bank debt.

The boss praised publicans for facing challenging conditions head on: "Greatest credit must go to the vast majority of our licensees who face the daily challenges of running a pub, overcoming whatever obstacles are placed in front of them and developing businesses that are consistently attractive to customers."

Related Articles:

• 05 Oct 2010 - Enterprise Inns fined £300,000 after landlord's "tragic and shocking" death
• 13 Aug 2009 - Enterprise Inns to turn waste cooking oil into biofuel
• 21 Jul 2009 - Food and Fuel buy four Enterprise pubs
• 28 May 2009 - 'Pubcos profit margin nine times more than Tesco'
• 12 May 2009 - 'Survival of the community pub is remarkable'
• 03 Apr 2009 - Over 1,130 pubs owned by pubcos have closed
• 23 Jan 2009 - 99p pint is a 'disappointment'

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