The City Pub Group on Tuesday said it is quadrupling staff bonuses to entice millennials to work behind the bar.
The pubs operator typically paid out £750 annually to each non-management employee as part of a profit-share system. That will be increased to as much as £3000 spread out in weekly payments, and is linked to meeting sales targets.
Chairman Clive Watson said there has been industry-wide recruitment struggles: “Some of that has been Brexit-related, and some is millennials not wanting to work unsociable hours.” He hopes the move will help attract and retain staff.
The firm recorded a pretax profit of £2.6 million, compared to a loss of £260,018 in 2017. Sales jumped 22% to £45.7 million and comparable sales rose 1.6%.
The landlord of 44 sites is on track to increase the estate size to around 65-70 by mid-2021.
Watson said: “Our performance has been driven by both organic growth and the new pubs coming on stream. Considering the continued strong performance we are delighted to increase our dividend, by 22% for shareholders.”
