PUB giant Marston’s has been upbeat about its last year and hailed encouraging Christmas bookings despite reporting widening losses.

The firm said it remains positive about the festive period despite the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

The company, which runs 1,500 venues across the UK including Scotland where it has venues such as Foundry 39 in Edinburgh and Jenny Burn in Rutherglen, said it has not yet been affected by booking cancellations.

Andrew Andrea, who became chief executive officer of the pub group last month, said the company is in a strong position for Christmas despite sector-wide challenges.

"Bookings have been strong and remained so recently," he said. "Our supply chain has also been pretty resilient, so although we have Plan B options, to deal with any sudden problems, we are as prepared as we can be."

The Herald:

Underlying pre-tax losses widened to £100 million for the year to October 2, from a £22m loss in the previous year.

Revenues for the year tumbled to £423.8m from £821m in the previous year after it was more heavily impacted by pandemic restrictions.

It chipped nearly £100m from its debt pile but that still stands at £1.2 billion.

Shares in Marston’s closed down 4.5p, or 6.5%, at 65p.