DORSET brewer Hall & Woodhouse has returned to profitability after the “great” short-term costs of the Covid crisis.

The company, which brews Badger beers and has 170 pubs across the south of England, made an underlying pre-tax profit of £1.6million in the year ending January 2022, after a £10.5m loss the year before.

Anthony Woodhouse, chairman of the Blandford-headquartered business, said: “The last financial year was again a challenging one, but it has been reassuring that Hall & Woodhouse has been able to return to profitability with an underlying profit before tax of £1.6m (2021: loss of £10.5m) despite the ongoing disruption.”

He said the team led by managing director Matt Kearsey “are to be congratulated for what has been achieved – such a demonstration of resilience does not happen by accident”.

He added: “Through the pandemic, we are justly proud of how H&W has resolutely stuck to its purpose and lived by its values despite the extreme pressure.

“In the short term, the cost to the company has been great. However, as has happened many times in H&W’s history, the crisis has given rise to significant opportunities to acquire both managed houses and business partnerships at very attractive prices. H&W has been able to grasp these opportunities due to its strong balance sheet, tight management of cashflow and the limited borrowings that were in place at the start of the pandemic. We also bolstered our resources by disposing of a number of smaller predominantly wet-led pubs that did not fit with our long-term strategy.”

He said the disposal of some pubs resulted in a total profit before tax of £11.1m compared with a £15.1m loss in 2021. Net debt was down from £60.9m to £45.3m despite new acquisitions and a “high level of investment” in staff and pubs, he said.

He added: “As I write this, the human tragedy continues in the Ukraine and our thoughts are with everyone directly and indirectly affected. I am afraid we will not be immune to the impact on the economy, but notwithstanding this, I am optimistic about H&W’s continued recovery in the year ahead.”

The company was founded by Dorset farmer Charles Hall in 1777 and remains family owned, with Anthony and Mark Woodhouse the seventh generation to be involved in the business.

Its pubs stretch from Bristol to Brighton.