Snowstorms hit Greene King

Pub group Greene King has said it notched up another sales record on Christmas Day, but followed rival Marston’s earlier this week in revealing it suffered a hit from December snowstorms.

The firm, which has 300 Scottish pubs including Albanach in Edinburgh’s old town, said managed pub like-for-like sales rose 1.6 per cent over the two weeks covering Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

That rise would have been 3.4 per cent with the snow impact stripped out. Greene King, which also owns Belhaven brewery north of the Border, hailed record-breaking trade on Christmas Day, with sales of £7.6 million, up 2.6 per cent on the previous year, with 154,000 meals sold.

But the group, which also owns the Chef & Brewer brand, said sales either side of the festive season were slower, “reflecting the tough underlying trading environment and additional snow impact”.

Like-for-like sales fell 1.4 per cent across its managed pubs in the first 37 weeks of its financial year, with food sales the biggest drag.

Its leased pub chain posted a 0.2 per cent rise in net profits over the period, while its brewing arm – including the Abbot Ale and Belhaven Best ales – saw sales by volume fall 0.9 per cent.

Anna Barnfather, analyst at Liberum, said Greene King had “traded reasonably well over the main two Christmas weeks, given the circumstances. Like many of its broader peers the weather impacted trading, particularly in the out-of-town/drive-to sites.”

Greene King, whose headquarters is in Suffolk, said it was being competitive on price and had more bar staff available in outlets at key trading times. It had also stepped up investment.