City Pub Group targets expansion as revenue recovers

City Pub Group has outlined plans to adopt a “more ambitious approach” to expansion, after its full-year trading performance exceeded expectations.   Executive chairman and co-founder Clive Watson told The Times that the company is “now in the best shape it’s ever been”. Watson reaffirmed the company’s commitment to grow its pub count to 70 in the next three years. The pub operator has 43 pubs, mostly freeholds. It also has a 50% stake in Mosaic, which has nine pubs. Watson intends to buy out the remainder within three years. Its properties are valued at £160m. Sales at the operator have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Revenue rose by 63% to £57.8m in the year to 25 December. It generated pretax profit of £1.1m, compared with a £2.9m loss in the previous year. The Times (£)