Christmas trading boom for pubs

Red Mist Leisure saw a rise in like-for-like sales of 8.65% across its seven pubs and the group is happy with the result, which helped top off a strong 2016.

It added that total sales for December had risen to £781,000 from £718,000 in 2015.

The group also reported good growth on New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve against last year and said Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on a Sunday allowed it to maximise the number of Christmas parties pubs were able to host leading up to the big days.

It also stated that due to being a predominantly rural pub company, the lack of any extreme weather meant there were minimal cancellations or power losses, which can often cause significant disruption.

Wadworth chief executive Chris Welham said: “Christmas trading was above expectations with great food and drink sales in our managed houses winning the day.

“Sales of our Christmas ale, Dray Bells with its rebrand and new look, Old Timer, our winter ale – also went down a storm this year. 

“For us it was all about being prepared for Christmas, getting the marketing out there to attract Christmas bookings early, with this year seeing a large growth in Christmas day visits alongside developing menus that followed tradition, but with incredible local ingredients, provenance and twists (including a full gluten-free Christmas menu).”

‘Big days’ performed well

Other leading operators shared their experiences with The Morning Advertiser​’s sister publication MCA​.

Managing director of Fuller’s Inns Jonathon Swaine said trading had been in line with expectations.

He added: “The ‘big days’ performed well for us, especially ‘the Fridays’, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day – and the weather was benign for much of the month.

“Even striking railway workers could not de-rail the Christmas spirit!”

Stonegate reported total like-for-like sales increased of 5.7% in the four weeks to 1 January and the group said its format had performed well during the period with all regions in growth, according to MCA​.

The group said the integration of 30-strong Walkabout operator Intertain​ was now complete and the sites had traded in line with expectations over Christmas.

Stonegate chief executive Simon Longbottom said: “We had a strong festive trading period, building on the positive like-for-like trading momentum which Stonegate delivered in 2016.

“The benign weather leading up to Christmas undoubtedly benefitted trading and this continued into the core Christmas and New Year period.”

Positive trading momentum                   

He added: “Encouragingly all of our trading formats performed well in spite of an unseasonably light sporting fixture programme over the festive period and it was particularly pleasing to see some of the pubs we have acquired and invested in over the past 12 months performing particularly strongly.

“We enter 2017 with positive trading momentum and this year will also see the group benefit from a full contribution from the Intertain acquisition.

“This, together with the leading team in drinks-led pub retailing, a well invested estate and a growing reputation as the consolidator of choice in the high-street pub sector, leaves Stonegate well positioned and we look forward with confidence to another year of progress.”

City Pub Company chairman Clive Watson told MCA​: “The run up to Christmas was very strong and I put that down both to the way Christmas fell this year but also the fact that we were better organised.

“What was really pleasing was the trade didn’t tail off towards the end of that pre-Christmas week and we ended up with like-for-likes up in double digits.

“Even in the week between Christmas and New Year trade held up.

“New Year’s Eve was more hit and miss. Places like the Lion & Lobster in Brighton had a record-breaking day, but in others it was slower and in some places we were hit by no shows.”

Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh said sales for the four weeks to 25 December were up 70% on last year and a number of company records were broken, including a £15,000 one-day take at its Chancery Lane site.