Christmas proves profitable for leading pub operators

The UK's leading pub operators had a bumper Christmas, according to the latest survey tracking the fortunes of the licensed sector.

According to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker (CPBT), like-for-like sales across the country's leading pub and restaurant operations rose 2.9 per cent in December, compared with the same period in 2008.

Total sales rose 4.7 per cent, "marking a healthy performance by big name operators over the festive season - and demonstrating that consumers are still wiling to go out to eat and drink", according to the CPBT, which is a partnership of accountants KPMG, property specialists Coffer Group and UBS Investment Bank.

Tracker figures show that the country's leading eating and drinking-out groups managed to keep their heads above water during 2009 in an increasingly competitive market.

December marks the ninth consecutive month of positive like-for-likes collectively for the companies making up the Business Tracker group.

However after the uplift, experts warn January could herald a return to more gloomy news.

Richard Hathaway, head of travel, leisure and tourism at KPMG, said last year's strong like-for-like sales were being measured against softer comparables.

"Looking forward to next month's figures, the extremely poor weather in recent weeks particularly the first half of January, traditionally a quiet month anyway, could see a more significant drop in sales for the sector."

Fifteen major companies are surveyed in the CPBT every month, include managed pub chains Mitchells & Butlers, Whitbread and Punch Pub Co, plus restaurant groups such as Gondola, Pizza Hut and Tragus.