𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Britain’s oldest brewer has toasted a boost for its pubs as London venues thrive but said beer sales were sinking while the price of a pint has risen again.

Kent-based Shepherd Neame, which runs 285 pubs primarily in the south east of England, hailed an “exceptional” performance for its venues in the capital city.

Sales surged by 11.2% for the region inside the M25 over the second half of 2025, compared like-for-like with the same period the year before.

Sales growth slowed to 1.4% for pubs outside London, which includes locations across Kent and Sussex.

Stronger trading within its pubs was offset by weaker demand for its brewing business, through which it makes its own range of brands including Spitfire, Bishops Finger and Whitstable Bay.

The total volume of sales for its own beer brands dropped by 11.6% over the period, driven by fewer sales to supermarkets and shops which sell the products to their own customers.

A wider shift away from traditional ales and towards stout and premium lager labels was partly behind the decline, according to the business.

Shepherd Neame said it had been focusing efforts on driving sales of its beer brands within its own chain of pubs to counteract the falls elsewhere.

This is despite the company increasing prices over recent months, which it said was an effort to offset higher taxes.

Chief executive Jonathan Neame told the Press Association: “Prices have gone up in the last six months. We try to be as targeted as possible, so not on every line.

“The reason they’ve gone up is because of the national insurance costs, so this is not just about beer, this is about any retailer or anyone who employs a lot of people.

“We’re very, very sensitive to the price impact and do not wish to put prices up any more than we have to.

“But yes we do have to adjust the price if we are experiencing above-inflationary impacts on our cost base, which has been the case for hospitality for the past five years.”

Mr Neame said the price of a pint over the last five years, nationally, has risen by about 30%.

Meanwhile, the chief executive also warned that employment in the pubs and hospitality industry was being squeezed by higher labour costs on the back of tax increases, making it harder for firms to hire staff.

He said the company had been “very tight on taking on new employees” as a result of the cost pressures.

Mr Neame said other European countries had “invested in their hospitality sectors to drive employment for young people” and referred to recent VAT-cutting measures in Germany and Ireland.

“Our sector was seen as a very good way of stimulating jobs, and I hope that that’s where the UK Government moves to, so that we are part of the solution and not part of the problem.”