Pubs toast sunshine, but it’s not so hot for restaurants

HOT WEATHER in May helped boost trade in Britain’s pubs but hit restaurant sales, according to a new study.

Overall, the country’s managed pub, bar and restaurant groups saw collective like-for-like sales rise 1.4 per cent on May last year, according to latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

While managed pubs saw collective like-for-likes jump 3.5 per cent for the month, with drinkled outlets doing best, casual dining brands saw like-for-like sales drop 2.1 per cent against the same period last year.

Peter Martin, vice-president of CGA, the business insight consultancy that produces the Tracker, said “It’s a familiar story. When the sun shines people head for the pub, or more precisely the pub garden.

“In contrast, restaurants do better when it’s dull and damp. Weather remains the biggest factor when it comes to sales in the out-of-home market.”

Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure, added: “It’s always easy to blame the weather. But it was a long wait until May when the pub sector got the benefits of some sunshine. Better weather and a World Cup with a record 32 teams should see very strong trading for many pub businesses over the coming period.

“Restaurants and food-led pubs may have a tougher summer to add to the pressures they are under. In the longer term, we see competition for casual dining chains become little less intense as poorer-performing units are closed.”

The Coffer Peach Tracker industry sales monitor for the UK pub, bar and restaurant sector collects and analyses performance data from 39 operating groups, with a combined turnover of more than £9bn.