Marston's on Friday called for government support to continue once pubs reopen on July 4.
The pub group's boss, Ralph Findlay, warned the challenges facing the industry should not be underestimated, with much resting on how long it takes for consumer confidence to rebuild.
He said: “As the industry navigates its way out of lockdown, we will continue to urge Government for continued support for pubs and wider hospitality, through the reopening phase and thereafter through business rates relief and cuts to VAT.”
Findlay's comments came as Marston's revealed that it suffered a £40 million sales hit in March alone as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. This means profits in today's interim results fell to £9.4 million from £34.2 million a year earlier.
He added that Marston's had reduced cash burn to £10 million a month, while FIndlay also struck a longer-term “transformational” deal to combine his company's brewing operations with those of Carlsberg UK in order to significantly strengthen the balance sheet.
Marston's has an estate of around 1,400 pubs, as well as six national and regional breweries – Marston’s, Banks’s, Wychwood, Jennings, Ringwood and Eagle.
Findlay confirmed that pubs will reopen from July 4: “We look forward to welcoming our customers back into our pubs, albeit the trajectory of both revenue and earnings in this initial period are uncertain.”
