Greene King puts brave face on dip in summer take
Greene King, the brewer and pubs group that owns Belhaven, has blamed falling consumer confidence, rising costs and bad weather for a dip in first-quarter takings.
The company booked a 1.2 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the 18 weeks to 3 September, as it also pointed to increased competition from rivals.
“We remain cautious about the trading environment and expect the challenges of weaker consumer confidence, increased costs and increasing competition to persist over the near term,” Greene King said in a trading update yesterday.
The group added that over the course of the year, most of the sales decline can be attributed to value food, although more recently it saw “some softening across other segments”.
Greene King, which is headed by chief executive Rooney Anand, said it believed visits to the pub will remain an “affordable treat” despite cashstrapped consumers cutting back on spending elsewhere.