Greene King To Grow Managed Pub Business, Trim Leased Estate

1st Jul 2010 07:22

By Michael Carolan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. pub group Greene King PLC (GNK.LN) said Thursday it would grow its estate of managed pubs while shrinking its tennanted pub estate in an effort to increase its exposure to the more profitable eating out market. The Suffolk-based brewer and pub owner also said its pretax profit before exceptional items was GBP123 million in the year to May 2, up 3.8% from GBP118.5 million the previous year and in line with analysts' expectations. The company said it had decided to accelerate the pace of its change to focus more on retail and key brands. To do this it plans to grow its managed pub business by a quarter to around 1,100 pubs over the next three to five years. It currently operates 888 managed pubs. It will also cut the estate of pubs it leases to individual landlords to 1,200 from 1,584 and increase investment in its core beer brands. "This strategy will generate faster, profitable sales growth and increase our exposure to the long-term growth of the eating out market," said Chief Executive Rooney Anand in a statement. The company has brewed and owned pubs for over 200 years and manages its own pubs and restaurants in addition to renting out tenanted pubs across the U.K. -By Michael Carolan, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9278; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 01, 2010 02:22 ET (06:22 GMT)