Community pubs had best of Christmas trade
Community pubs had the best of holiday trading — thanks to snow and freezing temperatures.
Community pubs fared well over festive period
First reports from brewers and pubcos suggest that people continued to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the pub but stayed close to home, with destination houses performing less well than the local.
“Our community pubs traded particularly well as locals who couldn't make it into work seemed to be able to make it round the corner to the pub,” commented a spokeswoman for Charles Wells.
“Destination venues suffered as people decided not to make the journey.”
Peach Pub Company was up 11% despite half its estate being hit by snow, losing them about £100,000 in sales because of cancelled Christmas bookings.
Although a snapshot survey by the Morning Advertiser among freehouses and tenancies showed takings down for most, some operators enjoyed a better Christmas than expected.
“Managed houses were more buoyant than we hoped and we were pleased with sales at community pubs,” said Hydes marketing director David Safiruddin.
Town & City, Bay Restaurant Group, Orchid Group, Batemans and Fullers all declared themselves happy with their festive performance, as did Graham Wall, operations director of Dragon Inns, which has seven community pubs in the Welsh valleys.
“Trading was solid, in some houses better than last year,” he said. “People seemed to be staying local and the way Christmas fell gave us steady business through the holiday.”
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