**Summary**
Marstons PLC, a leading UK hospitality business with over 1,300 pubs, reported strong interim results for the 26 weeks ended 28 March 2026. Key highlights include
1. **Financial Performance**
Revenue slightly declined to £422.7 million (from £427.4 million in H1 2025), primarily due to temporary closures for new pub format refurbishments.
Underlying EBITDA remained stable at £85.9 million, with an improved margin of 20.3% (up from 20.1% in H1 2025).
Underlying profit before tax increased by 7.9% to £20.5 million, driven by disciplined cost control and efficiency initiatives.
2. **Strategic Progress**
Completed 60 new pub format refurbishments, exceeding the target of 50, with a total of 91 pubs reformatted across FY2025 and FY2026.
New formats delivered strong returns, with an average ROIC of 35% and like-for-like growth of approximately 20%.
Digital transformation initiatives, including the Order & Pay rollout, improved service speed and increased average spend by 15%.
3. **Operational Highlights**
Like-for-like sales were down 0.5% but outperformed the market.
Reputation score improved to 806 (from 800 in H1 2025), reflecting enhanced customer experience.
Capital investment of £39.0 million, with expansionary capex of £13.9 million, focused on format rollouts.
4. **Financial Position**
Net debt (excluding IFRS 16) reduced to £857.7 million (from £881.1 million in H1 2025), with leverage at 4.7x (down from 4.9x).
NAV per share increased to £1.28 (from £1.07 in H1 2025), up 19.6% year-on-year.
5. **Outlook**
Well-positioned for the summer trading period, including the World Cup, with all 91 newly invested sites open.
Expects to meet full-year market expectations, with continued focus on new pub formats and cost discipline.
Plans to expand the rollout of new formats to approximately 100 sites for FY2027.
Marstons remains confident in its strategy and ability to deliver sustainable growth, supported by its strong operating model and disciplined capital allocation.
| Metric | H1 2026 (£m) | H1 2025 (£m) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 422.7 | 427.4 | (1.1%) |
| Underlying EBITDA | 85.9 | 85.9 | 0% |
| Underlying Operating Profit | 64.4 | 63.3 | 1.7% |
| Profit Before Tax | 20.5 | 19.0 | 7.9% |
| Net Debt ex IFRS 16 | 857.7 | 881.1 | (2.7%) |
| Net Debt ex IFRS 16 / EBITDA | 4.7 | 4.9 | (0.2) |