Brexit
Post-Brexit boost for pub turnover and pub property viewings
The monthly Coffer Peach business tracker showed that total pub sales in September 2016 were 3.6% higher than in September 2015, which represents a like-for-like increase in sales of 1.6%. The findings mean that the pub sector has recorded positive growth in every month since June's referendum.
Vice president of CGA Peach, Peter Martin, said: "The good weather will have helped trade this September, but the underlying trend for the market as a whole has been upwards right across the summer, so operators can take some heart from the fact that the public doesn’t appear to have cut back on going out despite the continuing longer term economic uncertainty around Brexit."
The survey, which analyses performance data for 34 large pub and restaurant operating groups, showed a 5% increase in total sales for managed pubs and restaurants.
The head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, Paul Newman, said of the findings: "It will no doubt leave operators, investors and landlords breathing a collective sigh of relief. While wider retail is suffering, we believe the leisure and hospitality sector will prosper as consumers continue to divert discretionary spending into more regular bar and restaurant experiences given how embedded they have become to the UK social calendar."
Pub viewings on the rise
Meanwhile, the pub property market is also flourishing in the face of the Brexit vote. Newly released figures from licensed property agents Fleurets have shown that in the quarter following the referendum, leisure property viewings had increased 23% on the same period last year – from 651 to 801.
Simon Hall, director and head of agency at Fleurets commented: “It has been anticipated that Brexit will greatly impact the property market, however, our year-on-year comparisons show that viewings have actually increased.
"We suspect that this increase in activity may be linked to the continued low interest rates and a desire to invest in property, which is considered to be a safer investment. Transaction volume may not increase because we have seen vendors becoming more reluctant to sell. If this continues, the increase in demand over supply will lead to higher price rises in the near future.”