Cigarettes and cheap alcohol hurt JW Lees

JW LEES is the latest brewer to be hit by the smoking ban and cheap supermarket alcohol.

The independent family brewer, founded in Manchester in 1828, described trading conditions as “difficult” following the introduction of the ban.

But the group, which employs 758 people – 338 of them part-time, said it had invested £5m on new pubs and opened two retail wine warehouses under the Willoughby’s brand.

The ban, introduced on April 1 in Wales and July 1 2007 in England, has kept drinkers away, said JW Lees, along with subdued consumer spending and cheap supermarket beer.

Higher raw material and energy prices also caused problems for the group, echoing statements by Blackburn family-owned brewer Daniel Thwaites.

Chairman William Lees-Jones told TheBusinessDesk: “The challenges facing the pub industry are quite well-documented. The increase in duty and resulting falls in beer sales are making it quite tough.

“But we’re managing cash well and continuing to innovate rather than cutting costs. We’re being positive about our business. We’ve come through a couple of world wars and some fairly big recessions since 1828.”

JW Lees, which also operates the wine business Willoughby’s, pulled in turnover of £49.6m in the year to March 31, down 2.3%. Like-for-like pre-tax profit was almost static at £4.6m, but dropped 12.5% to £3.5m after stripping out profits from disposals.

The group paid £435,758 in interest payments over the year, down slightly on 2007. The highest paid director took home £379,053 including £121,981 in pension payments – down 1.5% on last time.