Pub and restaurant like-for-like sales up 1.2% in September
Sales were boosted by warm weather.
Despite retail woes and Brexit fears, Britain's pub and restaurant groups saw collective like-for-like sales grow 1.2% last month, according to latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.
In contrast, data from the British Retail Consortium showed total retail sales down 1.3%, with like-for-like trading falling 1.7%, against the same month last year. The BRC blamed uncertainty about a no-deal Brexit for reduced consumer spending.
“Just looking at retail as a barometer of the nation’s well-being, you would be forgiven for thinking we were deeply depressed. But the eating and drinking-out numbers paint a very different picture. It may be that pubs and restaurants are providing welcome relief from the constant news of Brexit uncertainty,” CGA director Karl Chessell explained.
Pubs’ like-for-like sales rose 1.9%, with chains also collectively (restaurants and pub restaurants) seeing positive like-for-likes, up by 0.4%.
“The spectre of a no-deal Brexit seems to have driven consumers to take solace in their local hostelry in September. With consumer sentiment set to be severely tested over the coming weeks, operators need to focus on operational excellence with only the leanest and most efficient likely to prosper in such challenging market conditions,” RSM head of leisure & hospitality Paul Newman.
Regions outside of London traded better in September, showing like-for-like growth of 1.3%, compared to 1.0% inside the M25.
