Food and Beer Prove Resilient for Marston's

LONDON, May 22 /PRNewswire/ --     Sales of food and beer at independent brewer
and pub operator Marston's
contributed to a resilient performance for the first half of the year in a
difficult trading environment.



    Despite the economic headwinds, food sales in Marston's Inns and Taverns
grew to 37 per cent of total sales, and turnover at the Marston's Beer
Company grew by 19 per cent following the successful integration of the
Wychwood Brewery last year and the trend among beer drinkers towards regional
ales.



    Acknowledging a 2.8 per cent decline in Group turnover in the first six
months of the year, in an interview with online business broadcaster Cantos,
Chief Executive Ralph Findlay said he was cautiously optimistic about the
outlook.



    "We've been encouraged that over the last 13 weeks or so, we have seen an
improvement in our trading. I think it remains fragile. But we are cautiously
optimistic."



    New Finance Director Andrew Andrea said that a tight control over costs
had helped to protect margins and maintained that the group remained
committed to paying down net debt.



    "Although debt has increased slightly, this is in line with our
expectations, and we fully expect to see a net debt reduction by the end of
this financial year."



    The interviews and transcripts are available now on
http://w3.cantos.com/marstons.



    It's free to view. All you need to do is register at
http://www.cantos.com. Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features
in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company
executives. If you would like to contact us, please email
[e-mail] or phone [phone].