The Liberation Group

We've posted a trading update for our half year ending 27th July 2024 and we are pleased to announce continued strong group performance, with Managed LFL growth driven by our award winning food offer and accommodation. Highlights are; - Trading momentum maintained with LFL sales up 6.4% in H1. LFL growth delivered in all markets and channels, with a standout performance in food at 10.0% in H1. - Accommodation continued its strong performance and made an important contribution to the group with occupancy at 84%, in Q2 77% across H1 vs 71% in H1 last year. Roll out of Butcombe Boutique Inns has commenced to plan. - Brewing and Drinks performance lead by Butcombe Free Trade, with 8.5% growth vs last year Jonathan Lawson, CEO of Liberation Group, said:   “I’m pleased that we have maintained our strong start to the year, despite the challenges posed by an unseasonally wet summer so far. We have a simple strategy and clear plan for growth across our Group and it is particularly satisfying to see strong performances in key areas of focus including our newest pubs, food (particularly in breakfast and brunch), accommodation and our Free Trade business. We are confident about the second half of the year, particularly if the sun shines, and are already turning our thoughts towards providing a truly memorable Christmas for our customers.” The full report can be seen here: https://lnkd.in/evTdSdZt

We can’t believe it but we’ve won the Pub and Bar award at The Cateys! If you don't know them The Catey Awards are often described as the hospitality industry's equivalent of the Oscars.  They look to celebrate the hospitality industry’s most talented chefs, restaurateurs, brands and performers. The Pub and Bar Award is for a pub or a pub company with a food offering. The judges look for sound business planning and a good grasp of financial matters. Flair and innovation are also important. The winner must be committed to staff training, customer service and show involvement in the community. This award means a lot to us and to get this kind of recognition, particularly for our food offering, mean so much to all our amazing team. Receiving feedback from the judges like Jocelyn's really just capped it all of for us on what was a fantastic night of celebrations for the hospitality industry. “An incredibly impressive business with an innovative approach to people and recruitment, commitment to sustainability and a truly engaging communication strategy, both internally and externally.” Jocelyn Neve #proud #greatteam #hospitality #cateys #butcombe

We are so pleased to announce that The George Inn has been named the UK's best pub at the National Pub & Bar Awards. The George Inn, is an historic 14th-century Grade I listed Tudor inn, located in the heart of Norton St. Philip, near Bath, and was our first inn to join our premium rooms offering, Butcombe Boutique Inns, last month. Senior Sous Chef Aimie Harley was also recently voted Pub Chef of the Year at the Salon Culinaire awards. It's been quite a year already for The George Inn! A huge thank you to Linda and the team for the fantastic work they are doing, we really couldn’t be prouder of you all. #proud #fromtheheart #settingthebarhigh #butcombeboutiqueinns

Today we have announced our results for year ending 27 January 2024, attached is a summary of our results. We are also pleased to have made a solid start to the new financial year with sector strong LFLs in the managed estate and encouraging year on year growth in our Brewing and Drinks division. LFL sales in the Managed Pubs in the 13 weeks ended 27 April 2024 were +6.5%, with LFL growth in all three categories including strong growth in food at +8.5% and 10%pts growth in occupancy. We have been pleased to see the pubs acquired from Cirrus Inns in 2022 leading the way with 10.4% LFL growth. Our strategy of prioritising occupancy has helped to grow our food and drink sales, with occupancy in the new pubs 19% points ahead of last year and LFL sales on food at +18.8% for the first quarter. Butcombe Brewery once again has achieved volume growth versus last year in cask, keg and our bottled brands with strong single digit growth in the Free Trade.   We have been really excited to have launched Butcombe Boutique Inns last month where we will continue to be focused on offering guests a unique, personalised and comfortable stay in some of the best locations in the UK. We are excited about the opportunity Butcombe Boutique Inns brings to the business and we are looking forward to steadily rolling it out across more sites, with the objective of becoming the leading operator of premium rooms in the South of England.   Looking forward, we remain optimistic for the year ahead and excited by the plans that we have for further growing the business. Finally, a big thank you to all our supplies, producers, partners and of course team members for all the support and dedication they provide. https://lnkd.in/efN3gzaM https://lnkd.in/eJQ4YbkF https://lnkd.in/e2vbSzg5 https://lnkd.in/eSJb32Xu  https://lnkd.in/epNjBtBS https://lnkd.in/eBJqVJDE  https://lnkd.in/eZHXYwq7 https://lnkd.in/eTabkeXK

We are very excited to announce we've launched the website for our new premium rooms offering, Butcombe Boutique Inns. Butcombe Boutique Inns was created as the result of extensive research and speaking to lots of our customers. We gained invaluable insight and learnings helping us to reinforce a lot of things we already believed in - guests staying in hotels often book because of habitual reasons and what they’re really looking for are memorable experiences at sites located in the most beautiful locations. They want an excellent customer journey from the moment they make their booking to entering a beautiful bedroom, with fantastic locally sourced food and drink on tap throughout the day. All our Butcombe Boutique Inns are set in some of the best locations in the South of England, where guests will be receive a unique and extra special stay, a real home from home. With a truly personalised experience, where our guests will be able to get the most from their stays with us, whether it’s enjoying our award-winning hospitality or embracing local attractions and activities that our locations bring. The George Inn, Norton St Philip is our first site that's now been launched and will shortly be followed by The Swan Inn, Rowberrow. More inns will be launched over the following months so watch this space for more information. https://lnkd.in/ep6tzcWp

We are really proud that four of our pubs have been crowned County Winners of the 2024 National Pub & Bar Awards and are through to the Grand Final in June. They are The Methuen Arms - Wiltshire, The George Inn - Somerset, Victoria Arms - Oxfordshire and The Mill - Surrey. The pub & bar winners are selected for demonstrating excellence across a number of key areas from design, service, style of offer, to marketing and investment. We are really proud of all the teams on making this happen, congratulations to them all and thank you for their dedication and hardwork. #pubandbarawards #teamwork #proud #settingthebarhigh #awardwinning

Have you seen this? We're seeing various reports this morning about a jaw-dropping crocodile sighting in the River Avon, Bristol! Could the rumour finally be true! Check it out...what do you think? 🚨🐊 #bristolcroc #talltales

We were really proud to have been awarded Best Managed Pub Company (51+ sites) at the prestigious Publican Awards last night. 🥇 It wouldn't be possible without the hard work and dedication of all of our pub, support, brewery teams and fantastic suppliers. A big thank you to you all.🍻 #Butcombe #publicanawards #teamwork

This is just a small snapshot of some of the inspirational and powerful women across Liberation Group, that we are celebrating today - Happy International Women's Day! We constantly strive for equality and diversity, and we are proud to have over 800 talented women in our team and as of 2024 we now have an equal split between men and women across our pub teams. Today we are also celebrating the incredible female led and founded businesses that we work closely with, including Granny Gothards ice cream Two Drifters Distillery and Caleño Drinks Let's raise a glass (or a pint) to women everywhere.    #internationalwomensday #butcombebrewingco #fromtheheart

With a focus on customer experience and driving growth and performance across its business, we are pleased to announce two key changes to our senior leadership team.   Following his recent appointment to the Board, Jayson Perfect has been appointed Chief Operating Officer Liberation Group. Jayson will have responsibility for the day-to-day operation of Liberation Group’s pubs and drinks businesses and accountability for their P&L delivery.   In a new appointment for the company, Jamie Queen will join Liberation Group as Chief Growth Officer. Jamie’s previous roles include Group Marketing Director for Thomas Cook and Chief Commercial Officer for Buzz Bingo.   Jonathan Lawson, CEO, Liberation Group says: “We have made very strong progress over the last few years and have clear opportunities for further growth including accommodation, events and experiences, enhancing our digital customer journey and accelerating our free trade growth. These appointments align completely with our strategy to focus on these areas of growth alongside our existing operations,  continued desire to deliver outstanding service to our customers and creating value for the Group.    “Congratulations and thanks to Jayson for his continued dedication and contribution to the business and welcome to Jamie who brings with him a wealth of experience which will prove invaluable as we move forward into a new and exciting period for the company.” #Butcombebrewingco