Marston's shares surge as Xmas bookings, profits jump.


Shares in Marston’s surged on Tuesday as the pub chain reported a sharp jump in annual profits and said bookings for the key Christmas period were up 11% year on year.

Source: Sharecast

Pre-tax earnings for the year to September 27 hit £88.3m, up from the $14m recorded a year earlier. The company, which operates more than 1,300 pubs across the UK, said like for like sales in the eight weeks to 22 November were tracking in line with the prior year.

Shares in the company were up 20% in London.

It added that it was "well positioned for a strong festive period and FY2026, supported by ongoing format conversions and a robust calendar of demand-driving events, including the 2026 World Cup".

Total revenues were broadly flat year-on-year at £898m, as revenue management initiatives offset the impact of around £50m in pub disposals in the prior period. The group has invested £61.2m over the last year to launch new pub formats and wider estate upgrades.

"The roll-out of our pub formats is building momentum, and we plan to accelerate this growth engine this year with at least 50 new format launches," the company said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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