Shepherd Neame Posts Solid Half-Year as London Pubs Drive Strong Growth

Shepherd Neame, the Faversham-based brewer and pub operator widely recognised as Britain’s oldest brewery, has delivered a resilient set of interim results for the 26 weeks ended 27 December 2025, with its managed pub estate — particularly its London portfolio — powering performance even as the group’s brewing volumes continued to soften.

Group revenue for the period came in at £84.7m, marginally behind the £85.0m recorded in the equivalent half of 2025, with gains across the pub estate offset by a 4.7% decline in the Brewing and Brands division. Statutory profit before tax rose 2.7% to £4.4m, while underlying profit before tax held steady at £4.2m. Underlying EBITDA edged up 0.8% to £13.1m.

The standout story of the half was the company’s London managed houses. Retail like-for-like sales inside the M25 jumped 11.2% — building on an already impressive 9.0% rise in the same period last year — significantly outperforming the 1.4% uplift seen at sites outside the capital. Over the critical Christmas trading period, covering the five weeks to 3 January 2026, overall retail like-for-like sales rose 8.1%.

The strength was broad-based across the managed estate, with like-for-like drink sales up 5.6% and food up 4.3%. The division reported revenue of £42.3m, broadly flat year-on-year, but divisional underlying operating profit grew 5.8% to £5.8m — a meaningful improvement in margin efficiency.

The one area of softness within retail was accommodation. Total occupancy fell to 70.2% from 74.6% a year earlier, with revenue per available room slipping to £91 from £94, reflecting some easing in post-pandemic travel demand at the group’s pub-hotel properties.

The tenanted and leased pub estate also delivered solid progress, with divisional revenue up 4.8% to £19.0m and like-for-like licensee income rising 3.1%. Divisional underlying operating profit came in at £6.4m, marginally behind the prior year’s £6.6m, though the revenue growth signals continued operator confidence and buoyant consumer demand at grassroots level across Kent and the South East.

The Brewing and Brands division continued to face structural headwinds, with total beer volumes declining 6.6% and own-brand volumes falling 11.6% — a trend that has weighed on the sector more broadly as competition from imported lagers, craft independents and no-low alternatives intensifies. Higher logistics costs compounded the picture, with divisional revenue falling to £22.7m from £23.8m and underlying operating profit contracting to £0.3m from £0.6m in H1 2025.

Capital expenditure of £6.2m during the period included two significant London projects: a major refurbishment of The White Horse and Bower in Westminster, and The Hoop and Grapes in Farringdon — both designed to further cement Shepherd Neame’s position as a premium operator in the capital’s highly competitive managed house market.

Current trading to mid-March continues to track the first-half momentum. In the 37 weeks to 14 March 2026, retail like-for-like sales are ahead 4.4%, with total beer volumes down 6.7% and own-label volumes off 11.3%. Tenanted like-for-like income for the 35 weeks to 28 February is up 3.0%, consistent with the pace seen in the reported half.

Jonathan Neame, Chief Executive, Shepherd Neame said: “Demand has remained resilient, with a further exceptional performance from our London pubs, and a good trading performance in our tenanted estate. Our strong pub trading and some easing of cost pressures gives us cause for optimism going forward, but some caution is naturally warranted given the situation in the Middle East.”