Bradley L. Radoff, who collectively with his affiliates owns approximately 4% of the outstanding common shares of Marston's PLC (LSE: MARS) ("Marston's" or the "Company"), today issued the following open letter to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board").
Members of the Board,
I am a major shareholder of Marston's with an approximately 4% stake in the Company.
As you know, I have been advocating for the Company to initiate a capital return program for over a year on the basis of the Company's persistent >50% discount to net asset value ("NAV"), sustainable free cash flow generation and sizable owned real estate portfolio.
While it was directionally positive to see the Company begrudgingly acknowledge the logic of returning capital to shareholders in its trading update issued on July 21, 2026, I believe the Board continues to lack urgency and the lack of any specifics demonstrates its reluctance to embrace the concept. In the trading update, the Board said it plans to commence share buybacks once leverage reaches "around 4x" in FY2027. I see no reason why it cannot initiate a share buyback now.
The fact that the administrative Board which owns virtually no equity1 continues to drag its feet on capital allocation improvements is in sharp contrast to its willingness to ramp up spending on remodels.2 While I am supportive of the remodel plan as long as the data supports it, I question why the Board is able to budget nearly £30 million for new pub format refurbishments next year3 and not provide any specificity around buybacks?
Management has executed on its stated goals of margin improvement, but the Board is demonstrating that it has no respect for shareholders. It is time for the Board to give shareholders specific numbers so that it can be held accountable to those targets.
Until a shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy is actually in place, not merely promised in the future, I will continue to vote against the non-executive directors of the Board and consider all available options.
Sincerely,
Bradley L. Radoff
1 Marston's Notice of Annual General Meeting 2026.
2 Marston's completed 21 pub conversions in FY2025, 60 in H12026 and is planning 100 for FY2027.
3 The Company's trading update dated July 21, 2026 said Marston's will deliver c. 100 pub conversions in FY2027. The Company's interim results for H12026 stated that refurbishment costs are roughly £260,000 per pub.
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Contacts:
Greg Lempel
greg@fondrenlp.com
