Wet summer worse for pubs than the credit crunch
4 November, 2008
The Publican Food Report survey highlights factors hitting pub trading
The wet and windy summer had a bigger impact on pub trading than the consumer downturn, according to exclusive new research for The Publican.
Three quarters of pubs, 75 per cent, said that the weather had affected their sales over the past year, compared to 68 per cent who said the credit crunch had been a factor.
More that 250 pubs responded to the annual survey carried out for The Publican Food Report.
Reflecting the concerns raised by groups such at the Fair Pint campaign, tenanted pubs were the most likely to have felt the impact of the downturn - 89 per cent of tenants said it had been a factor over the past year.
Overall, the increase in beer duty had affected trading for 62 per cent of pubs, while 48 per cent said the smoking ban was still an issue.
Rising food and energy costs had forced menu price increases for 76 per cent of pubs. Less than half, 46 per cent, expect food sales to increase over the next year. Thirty two per cent expect food sales to remain steady, and 17 per cent forecast a decrease.
The full results and analysis of The Publican Food Report 2008 will appear in the November 24 issue of The Publican, and online at ThePublican.com.