Marston’s Reports Robust Festive Trading and Reiterates Confidence in FY2026 Targets

Marston’s (LSE:MARS) delivered a strong trading performance over the key festive period, reporting like-for-like sales growth of 4.0% for the 17 weeks to 24 January 2026. Trading was particularly robust over Christmas and New Year, with sales up 5.6% across the five core festive dates, highlighting the continued appeal and resilience of the group’s community pub estate.

Across the full reporting period, like-for-like sales were broadly in line with the previous year but continued to outperform the wider pub and hospitality market. Momentum has also been supported by the accelerated rollout of Marston’s new pub formats, with 23 sites opened in the first quarter alone and more than 50 planned for the full year. These formats are contributing to improved margins through a more efficient operating model and tighter cost control.

The group continues to focus on driving demand through a programme of targeted events and promotions, including sports-led initiatives, entertainment partnerships and themed campaigns, with the upcoming FIFA World Cup expected to provide an additional boost. Against this backdrop, the board reiterated its confidence in delivering full-year results in line with market expectations for FY2026, while remaining on track to meet its previously outlined strategic objectives and shareholder return ambitions.

From an outlook perspective, sentiment is supported by the strength of recent trading updates and a relatively attractive valuation, which together point to potential upside. Technical indicators also suggest a positive trend in the shares. These strengths are tempered by ongoing concerns around leverage and cash flow, while the absence of a dividend and limited recent corporate actions slightly dilute the otherwise constructive outlook.

More about Marston’s

Marston’s PLC is a UK-listed hospitality group operating a nationwide estate of more than 1,300 pubs across managed, franchised, and tenanted and leased models. Employing around 9,000 people, the company focuses on community-based pubs offering food, drink, accommodation and gaming, making it one of the leading operators in the British pub sector.