Kent brewer Shepherd Neame today warned Labour that it should not damage the pub industry if it wins the next election — even as it reported record earnings.
“We don’t want a return to punitive and high taxes as was hinted at yesterday,” said chief executive Jonathan Neame. “We have had two beer duty cuts of 1p a pint in the last 18 months which was great news but we still pay 12 times the tax on beer that they do in Germany.”
Neame is also watching the £660 million Greene King bid approach to its rival Spirit with interest.
“There’s a great deal of activity across the industry,” Neame said. “We may be a small, niche player but there is plenty we can do to take part in what is probably the most dynamic period in the industry ever.”
With other pubcos said to be looking at it, Spirit shares rose another 3% today to 91p — still well below the 110p a share Greene King is looking at offering. Spirit has already rejected a 100p-a-share offer from Greene King.
Shepherd Neame, which brews Spitfire and Bishops Finger beers as well as owning nearly 350 pubs, said trading was strong in the year to June with sales up 3% at £139 million. Operating profits rose 5.5% to £13.4 million and the dividend for the year rises 3% to 25.9p a share.
