Fullers blames rail strikes for pub profit warning

Pubs group Fuller, Smith & Turner says it has lost £4m in sales and will miss its profit targets this year due to the impact of ongoing rail strikes.

The chain, which has almost 400 pubs, also warned that cost-of-living pressures were weighing on the business.

Fullers, which also operates hotels, said underlying sales for the year to 21 January 2023 had risen by a fifth.

But boss Simon Emeny said the impact of the strikes was "frustrating".

In a statement the company said: "Due to the impact of the train strikes, our sales compared to the same four weeks in 2019 have declined by 5%.

"Since the start of October, we estimate that industrial action has reduced our sales by some £4m and the consequent impact on profitability means that we now expect to report earnings below market expectations for the full year."

Looking ahead, Mr Emeny said that "while ongoing strike action will dampen sales" there was good demand from customers "as office workers and tourists continue to return to the capital".

Rail workers staged a number of walkouts last year over pay and conditions. There will be further strikes on 1 and 3 February by members of Aslef, the train drivers' union, which will affect 15 rail companies.

Fullers said that annual like-for-like sales rose by 20% compared to the previous 12 months when many Covid restrictions were still in place.