Pubs cheer World Cup sales boost but bars and restaurants suffer

British pubs saw sales bounce higher last month after they were aided by the return of World Cup football, according to new figures.

However, it was a much tougher month for restaurants and bars which saw lower sales amid continued pressure on consumer budgets.

Hospitality experts have warned that December is also set to be a “challenging” month amid further inflation and the impact of rail strikes.

The latest monthly Coffer CGA business tracker revealed that pub, bar and restaurant groups saw overall like-for-like sales increase by 3.7% compared with the same month last year.

The increase was primarily down to an 8.1% sales increase at pub venues.

However, the distraction of the World Cup for some punters contributed to a 0.8% like-for-like decline for UK restaurants and an 8.6% fall for bars.

Karl Chessell, director of hospitality operators and food at CGA, said: “It was a positive November for pubs screening World Cup matches, and another strong month for London as workers and visitors continue to return to the capital, especially ahead of the festive season.

“But with restaurants and bars trading way behind the rate of inflation, consumer spending under strain and rail strikes threatening festive footfall, it will be a challenging December for managed groups.

“Spiralling costs leave many hospitality businesses extremely fragile, and with little respite in sight there is a strong case for urgent and targeted government support to protect businesses and jobs.”

The report also highlighted that November was a positive month for London’s hospitality firms, before any impact from strike action.

It recorded growth of 6.2% year-on-year within the M25, with growth of 3% for businesses elsewhere.

Paul Newman, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, said: “The World Cup is providing some welcome respite as fans come together to celebrate in their local pubs but industrial unrest alongside fragile consumer confidence will only add to restaurant operators’ woes and could leave a number of under-capitalised businesses teetering on the edge as New Year approaches.”

The figures also highlighted that growth was still nevertheless firmly below overall inflation, as Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures earlier on Wednesday highlighted inflation of 10.7% in November.

David Coffer, chairman of The Coffer Group, said: “On the face of it, these figures are very promising especially in relation to turnover, but the consumer price index figures obviously counter this progress dramatically, as well as the deterioration of turnover because of a wide range of industrial actions.”