Marston’s
Size of franchised estate 550
Marston’s is at the end of a three to four-year programme, during which its pub estate has been transformed. By the end of this financial year, in September, 500 or so drinks-led pubs will have been sold and hundreds more transformed into the franchise model the company has developed.
From there on, pub disposals will be few and far between. One could argue, then, that this is when the hard work starts. Most of the pubcos have carried out a similar transformations of their estates, but the pubs market is a difficult one to grow in.
The third-quarter trading statement from Marston’s was positive enough. Sales in the past ten weeks were up by 2 per year-on-year, showing some