Spirit Pub Company buoyant despite estate writedown The group, which operates chain pubs including Chef & Brewer, Flaming Grill and Taylor Walker, said pre-tax profit before exceptional items rose 16pc to £51m in the year to August, broadly in line with analysts" expectations. Mike Tye, chief executive officer, said: "Overall I'm very pleased. It's our first year as a stand alone [company] and I think it's been a successful year. Spirit proposed a full-year dividend of 1.95p per share. Mr Tye said the performance from the group's managed pubs had been "terrific," with like-for-like sales rising 4.8pc over the year. The leased pubs were more challenging with a 4.9pc like-for-like decline in net income, although Mr Tye said plans to improve performance were underway. Analysts at Peel Hunt said: "Full-year results were in line with expectations and contained no surprises. These results demonstrate good progress in the managed business and in time we believe the leased division will also recover.