Brewer shares year's successes

WILLIAM Lees Jones, managing director of JW Lees

BREWER, pub and restaurant owner JW Lees has announced another record year.

The Middleton Junction-based company said sales rose by 0.2 per cent to £64.1million and pre-tax profits were up 1.8 per cent to £5.7 million.

The results mean the company has achieved its budgeted profits for the fourth year in a row and staff will share profits of £317,000.

The news was announced at the family-owned firm's annual staff conference held at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

William Lees-Jones, managing director, said the business is making progress on all fronts, with each of its three trading divisions, managed pubs, tenanted pubs and the Middleton Junction-based brewery, in growth.

He said the past 12 months has been a time of consolidation for JW Lees and, although no new sites were acquired, a record £5.2million has been spent on building the best pub estate in the North West by raising quality, standards and service, and exiting some pubs.

He said: 'We are pleased to be reporting a record year and the business is growing well. We are also prepared for the current era of change. JW Lees has always done well in hard times and we anticipate that this will bring opportunities for us to buy and develop more new managed and tenanted pubs."

JW Lees has also strengthened its management team during the year by hiring Tony Spencer as director of retail and Nicola Waring as the company's first director of people.

Founded in 1828, the company produces a range of permanent, seasonal and special occasion beers and lagers.

Products are available to the pub and retail sector in cask and bottles.

Unveiled

In one recent example of a special occasion product, the firm created an official ale for the annual Manchester Beer Week in collaboration with Greater Manchester-based Cloudwater Brew Co.

The two companies highlighted their interest combining old and new beer-making crafts to produce the ale, which is named Mcr Fold.

The beer was unveiled to the trade and media earlier this year.

JW Lees runs a network of pubs, inns and restaurants, ranging from community pubs to food-focused inns and restaurants including Duttons in Manchester city centre, the Alderley Edge Hotel in Cheshire and the Anglesey Arms Hotel in North Wales.