Easter sales boost for UK pubs
Pubs enjoyed a bumper Easter weekend as many Brits got out and about in the sunshine instead of travelling abroad.
Pubs reported soaring sales over the bank holiday weekend because of good weather.
According to media reports, the Lake District emerged as the favoured UK destination - a welcome boost for licensees in the area whose businesses were devastated two years ago by foot-and-mouth disease.
Bill Smith, chief executive of the Lakes Hospitality Association, said: "Business is almost as good as it was eight or nine years ago and the weather has definitely helped."
It is a stark contrast to two years ago when numerous businesses were struggling to survive. Terry Franks, licensee of the Royal Oak in Braithwaite, near Keswick, told thePublican.com: "We were 15 to 20 per cent up on last year which is a very good sign, especially compared to two years ago.
"We had a really bad 2001. We had to sell one of our pubs in Penrith because we couldn't afford to run it anymore but now things are definitely looking much better.
"People are saying the Lake District is the UK's top tourist destination again and with more people choosing not to go abroad we are seeing more tourists than ever."
VisitBritain, a new tourism alliance of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council, said that businesses in Britain reported a rise in bookings for Easter, compared with the same period last year.
Ian Payne, chief executive of the 630-strong Laurel Pub Company, said: "If you didn't make money last week, you shouldn't be in this business. I can't ever remember a Good Friday as warm as the one we have just had.
"The only fly in the ointment is that London remains very difficult. There are not as many people working in the City and there are not enough tourists."
Bob Ivell, executive chairman of Scottish & Newcastle Retail, said: "Easter trading was very good and the weather clearly helped.
"Sales at Chef & Brewer were strong, and the pubs we have in suburban locations such as the John Barras chain, and our pubs with beer gardens, had a stonking time, so we were very pleased."
